Preventing the Future
by m0untainc1imber
Summary: Hermione is the last good person alive after the second war with Voldemort. Suddenly, she is flung back to the time of the Marauders with the words "Save me, my girl..." Follow her and the Marauders as she works to save the world and learn to live again.
1. The End of Everything

**Preventing the Future**

**Chapter 1 - The End of Everything**

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><p>Disclaimer: I do not own these characters in any way, shape, or form. However, I do claim credit for the majority of the storyline because (surprise surprise), it came from my imagination! But still, this is fanfiction so it doesn't belong to me and I'm not making any money from it.<p>

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><p>Author's Note:<p>

The rating is T because it has a lot about war and might get a bit graphic later on.

I'm sorry for abandoning my other story but I got a bit stuck and this came to me instead...I hope you enjoy it!

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><p>A few notes about the story:<p>

1 - It is a bit AU in that it breaks from the original story at the end of The Goblet of Fire.

2 - Everyone believed Dumbledore and Harry when they said Voldemort is back.

3 - Ron and Hermione were never a couple - this doesn't really matter much right now but I'm not sure where I'm going to go with this so...yeah.

4 - People don't know who the Marauders are, just that they exist and are responsible for the excessive amount of pranking that goes on around the school.

5 - The 'First War' refers to the time before Voldemort tried to kill Harry and the 'Second War' to the time after Voldemort comes back. This story starts up at the end of the 'Second War', which lasted until the Trio was 18 (so, until a year after they would have finished Hogwarts).

6 - They know about the Horcruxes.

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><p>The magical world was given very little time to prepare before Voldemort and his Death Eaters began their attack on the wizarding world. The good people, headed by the Order of the Phoenix, fought for all the was right in the world, they represented the light. The Death Eaters represented the dark, the black side of magic.<p>

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><p>And then they fell, the last lights in the world fell before the oncoming darkness. Those who had fought the longest and the bravest of them all, finally succumbed to the nothingness.<p>

Fred, who despite the fact that he had lost his other half refused to give in to hate.

Molly, who had mourned more than anyone.

Draco, whose soul was once thought to be lost.

Nevill and Colin, who found the bravery no one thought they had.

Snape, who even though he had never been loved still stayed and fought.

Lupin, who defeated the monster within him only to die to the greatest monster of them all.

Ginny, one who stood by the love of her life until the end.

Ron, who was there from the beginning and never once faltered.

And Harry, who fought to the bitter end, who had lost more than anyone, who was cursed and blessed from the moment he was born. Harry, who sacrificed everything he had, even his life, in the hope that someone, anyone, would be able to stop the wave of evil from completely passing over the land. They all died.

Finally Hermione stood there, the last one standing after a war of 20 years. She looked at the _thing_ which had rained down such destruction, and she looked at the death which now covered the world. And she knew that there was nothing she could do to help the poor, miserable souls who would inherit the wasteland. It was then that she lost all hope, all will, all bravery, all faith, everything. The last one to love and be loved became a shell. She lifted her chin, and looked the devil in his eyes as green light enveloped her.

Voldemort folded his wand between his hands as he surveyed the destruction around him. Finally, the world was his. The sky turned red and the ground black, a perfect wasteland for him to rule for eternity.

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><p>Please review, it helps with the whole motivation thing. I will try to update as often as possible but I am a university student and for those of you who were reading my other story, 'Finding Emrys' you will know from experience that that's not that often.<p> 


	2. Back Through Time

**Preventing the Future**

**Chapter 2 - Back Through Time**

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><p>Disclaimer: Not mine. Never has been, never will be.<p>

Author's Note: My gift to you: two chapters, one day.

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><p>Hermione was falling, being pulled back through the horrors of the war, she watched as images and memories flashed before her eyes. She seemed to be spinning through time and space filled with bitterness, grief, despair, grief, hopelessness, guilt and the remnants of love.<p>

Then she felt as though walls of the world were folding around her, crushing her until she found herself on the top of a hill, standing on green grass, with wind rushing through the chopped locks of her hair and feeling more alive than she had in years. Looking around she saw mountains, hills and lakes, and in the distance a sight she never thought to see again. In the early morning light she saw the silhouette of a castle, the shape of what had been her home for many years. In the distance, Hermione saw Hogwarts in all its glory, as it was before hell came to call.

All of a sudden the world went dark and the sky blazed with every colour imaginable and more. A voice boomed in the night, neither female nor male, every being with even a single drop of magic heard it and stood, looking at the heavens in awe. "Save me, my girl. Only you know what is come." Then an unearthly shriek ripped through the air, the future universe had breathed it's final breath.

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><p>Hermione stood there, glued to the ground. The words echoing around in her head. "Save me, my girl." <em>Who am I supposed to save? Who is left to save?<em> Even as she asked herself these questions she knew the answer, the only thing left worth saving was the earth. But no, it was more than that, the sound which reverberated through her chest came from something much deeper, much older than the earth. It was the universe, crying out in pain as this one tiny planet fell into the darkness, and the darkness spread, sucking everything into it until there was nothing left. The universe wanted her to save it. She thought that was asking a bit much. _I'm just one girl, who has lost everything. How am I supposed to save the universe?_ Another part of her replied, _Don't think of it as saving the universe, just think of it in terms of preventing the future._ Yes, that was all she needed to do, stop things before they got out of hand. But first, _When am I?_ She knew she was near Hogwarts, that much was obvious, but she had no idea what year it was. _Well, the only way to find out is either to find a newspaper (not likely seeing as I'm in the middle of nowhere) or ask someone._ So she started off in the direction of the castle. As she walked she kept stopping to touch the grass, amazed at how green it was, in the future it had all turned brown and died. She looked up at the sky repeatedly, revelling in it's beauty, blue sky with puffs of white was something she hadn't seen in months. She looked at the hillsides covered in flowers, she had forgotten just how vibrant the world would be. She couldn't believe that all this was real! If her face and heart hadn't hardened as much as they had over the years, she probably would have jumped for joy.

Four hours later she found herself standing at the edge of the Black Lake. She had walked right through all the castle's defences, her magic was so strong and she had learned so much in the last few year that these wards were nothing. However, as an after-thought, she turned and added another layer to the defences, it never hurt to be prepared, she learned that the hard way. This was one she had created herself, it was mostly comprised of good magic but over the years she had learned a small amount of what she liked to call the "Grey Arts", magic that wasn't quite part of the Dark Arts but close enough. She had found that when used correctly, it became a powerful tool. Playing with the 'Grey Arts' was not one of her prouder moments, and she never told anyone about it, but it had saved their lives on many occasions. It particularly came in handy when making shields or amulets. She never told anyone because she didn't want them to know what she had become, and she knew that if she told them her shields were made from a combination of good and slightly bad magic, they wouldn't accept them. She did what she had to do to keep those she loved alive, and to continue the battle against the risen darkness.

All of a sudden she felt the approach of magic, she had trained herself to sense the presence of magic, good and bad, and also learned to avoid detection when it arrived. She waved her wand and muttered "veneficus wash super mihi". And while she was hidden she stretched out _her_ magic and searched for the source of the other magic. She traced it back to the castle and to what she knew was Dumbledore's office. She kept walking along the lake to the front doors, she would let him see her when she was ready.

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><p>Dumbledore was sitting in his office when he felt something shift around the castle, he felt the wards move and rearrange themselves to make room for...a new one? He got up and looked out the window, spreading his magic out he found the defence barrier and found that indeed, someone had added a new layer, one he didn't recognize. He had no idea what it was, or what it did but he could tell it had not been placed there with evil intent. The magic it was made of on the other hand, that magic seemed good at first but it was laced with bits of iffy magic, magic that wasn't quite dark magic but was still considered less than good. The new barrier was unique, he had never seen these two types of magic intertwined before and in the past he would have said that it was impossible to mix them successfully but apparently he was wrong. And that didn't happen very often. He looked around to find the source of the magic but he couldn't see, or feel, anything or anyone. Apparently he would just have to wait and see. He wasn't too bothered by this because he hadn't sensed any malice behind this magic, just that it was different.<p>

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><p>Please review! Reviews make me happy! I love it when people put memy stories on alert and/or favorite but reviews are much better.

Ice cream and coffee to people who review!


	3. A Chat With Dumbledore

**Preventing the Future**

**Chapter 3 - A Chat With Dumbledore**

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><p>Disclaimer: Not mine.<p>

Author's Note:  
>A huge thank you goes out to City Lights, my lovely and amazing and talented beta! You should really go look at (and review) some of her stuff, it's quite good!<p>

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><p>Hermione walked through the front doors of the school and stood in the Entrance Hall flashing back to the last time she had seen it. It had been crumbling down around her as she and the survivors apparated away with as many injured and wounded as they could carry. Minutes before the Death Eaters had broken through the wards and defence barriers and they only had moments to pack up and leave.<p>

As she walked further into the school Hermione stopped at the doors to the Great Hall, and for a moment she could see it as it had been before the school fell, filled with people who had fled to the last safe place.

Finally she made it to the bottom of the staircase which led up to Dumbledore's office, and pausing, she sent her eagle patronus up and waited to be granted entry. She could probably have forced her way through, but figured it would be polite to wait for permission.

Dumbledore sat in his office waiting for the origin of the alien magic to make itself known; he knew it would happen eventually and he was a patient man. However, he didn't have to wait long because just then an eagle patronus floated in through his door.

"Albus Dumbledore." It said. "There are some things I would like to discuss with you. May I please come up?"

Dumbledore ordered the staircase to open and permitted the stranger entry.

In walked a woman who looked about twenty five, but in the the slightly dim light he couldn't really tell. As she approached the desk she seemed to bring a bit of the shadows with her, staying just out of direct sight. However, when she sat down in front of him, Dumbledore stifled a small gasp - the woman looked to be at least thirty and her face was very scarred. She had honey coloured skin and chestnut hair held back in a tight braid. Her olive-shaped chocolate coloured eyes were filled with an emptiness which was slightly unnerving. She was a bit shorter than average and extremely well-toned. If it wasn't for her many scars, bruises, barely healed cuts, slightly hollow cheeks and too skinny body she would have been beautiful. All in all she looked like she had been through hell and somehow managed to come out the other side.

"Hello there." Dumbledore said in a congenial-yet-distant manner. "I thought I felt something touch our wards a while back, you must be very powerful to have walked right through them." He gazed across his desk at her, "I don't mean to be rude, but may I ask who you are?"

"Oh, right." Hermione said. She wasn't used to introducing herself to people. "I'm Hermione Granger." She held out her hand.

Dumbledore took her offered hand and shook it firmly. "Pleased to meet you Ms. Granger." He was wracking his brain to remember if he knew or had heard of anyone with the name 'Granger', when he came up with nothing he decided she must be a muggleborn, foreign, or both. "And where, may I ask, are you from?"

"Not where, _when_. I'm from a time where there is nothing left, no people, no love, no light, just darkness and despair. And I've come for your help because now is the only time to prevent this catastrophe and you are one of the only people I trust to help."

Dumbledore thought for a moment. That was a very odd way to answer a question. Direct, but odd. Instead of pointing that out, he tried to tell her that hope was the one thing that remained. "There is never nothing, there is always hope."

"No, really, there is nothing left, not even hope. Yes, it was the last thing to go but by the time I was finished - at the very end - there was no hope." She took a deep breath and continued. "I can see that you are at a point in time where hope is abundant, and it probably seems like that will be what gets you through life, and it will. But by the time the end comes, if your end is anything like our end, it will be gone." Then what she said before hit her. '...you are at a point in time where hope is abundant...' Soon she felt a stirring of something inside her, the sprouts of something creeping up. There was hope now, she could fix things before they happened, she had time to save the world before it needed saving. But then Dumbledore revealed his naivete with his next comment.

"Yes, we have hope now, we will all have hope until the end. Hope and love, those are the two things which will never leave this earth."

Hermione started to get annoyed. Dumbledore had been one of the smartest people she knew and here he was, failing to grasp the savagery of the future. "You do not understand what is coming, you _cannot_understand. There are things that happen, things no one can imagine. Events unfold that cannot be comprehended unless you saw and felt them with yourself." She collapsed into a chair and deflated before the optimistic old man. She sighed. "I'm sorry, Albus, but there is no way to explain."

Dumbledore was shocked when she used his first name - there were very few people who did that. In the future from which she came they must have been quite close to evoke that degree of familiarity.

Then she got up and walked over to the cabinet with the pensive in it.

"You still have your pensive right?" She asked.

"Yes, I do." Dumbledore responded, realising what she was thinking. Following her to the cupboard he said, "But I do not want to invade your privacy, or endanger the future by looking into your memories. We do not need to upset the balance of the universe."

"Oh, don't worry Albus," Hermione said while she took memory after memory out of her mind and laid it in the pensive, "I plan on doing that myself. Messing with the future is exactly what I plan to do now that I'm here."

Dumbledore looked at her with a mixture of confusion and reproach on his face. He'd had the impression that she was a smart woman, yet here she was talking lightly about changing the past to affect the future, something which people were not supposed to do under _any_circumstances. Time was not to be changed; it would upset the balance of the universe and the consequence of doing so was usually death. The universe did not appreciate being messed with, and Dumbledore told Hermione as much.

"What you're missing is the fact that the universe itself brought me back here to change the past; it's not about to punish me for following it's own orders. Or do you not remember the little message it sent with me?"

In fact, Dumbledore did remember the words which he – along with the rest of the wizarding world – heard earlier that day. Things were starting to add up.

"Alright, you have convinced me that meddling with time - in this case - is a good idea." He said. Then he noticed that Hermione had stopped adding memories to the pensive.

"Albus, you may now dive into the future. But I'm warning you now: What you see in there is terrible. In fact, it is so bad that it could drive you crazy. Please come out when you've had enough - we will not be able to win the war this time around without your help," Hermione said before letting him step up to the pensive.

Dumbledore highly doubted that he would have to leave before he had watched all the memories, but he heeded her advice nonetheless.

The first memory was not one of Hermione's, but rather one which she had seen in a pensive herself. It was a fuzzy memory of a one-year-old baby boy that had obviously been recounted by the same boy many years later. It was also quite obvious that the young man had tried very hard to remember this memory, and had had a lot of help doing so.

They were standing in a small nursery, the baby was in a crib looking up at a young woman with brilliant red hair. The obvious focus was the woman's hair - everything else was a bit fuzzy. They heard a muffled yell from somewhere and the baby was scooped up by the woman who then started to run - or that's what Dumbledore assumed because the surroundings started to blur. Suddenly the walls flashed a brilliant green and the baby was thrown to the floor. A huge black shape loomed in front of the boy and the world turned green.

The next memory was Hermione's; she looked to be about 11 and was sitting at the Gryffindor table at Hogwarts, watching as a young boy with messy black hair and awkward glasses took a long time to be sorted. Dumbledore had a sneaking suspicion that it was the same boy from whom the previous memory had been taken.

This quickly changed into another one from the same boy - still about 11 - as he faced a man in a purple turban which then fast-forwarded to the bare back of the turbaned man's head. Dumbledore gasped at the face that was plastered on the back of his head: it was a horrific combination of snake and human.

The memories progressed rapidly through Harry's school years, most of them Hermione's but some second-hand memories from Harry and another boy named Ron. There was even one from Harry which showed the second rising of Voldemort.

Then, Dumbledore saw the war. One of the first things that happened was the conversion of Hogwarts from a school into a hybrid of the Order's headquarters, base and refuge. This saddened him beyond belief; the world must have really been in danger if they stopped teaching. He saw as his older self explained about the Horcruxes and the look of horror on their faces when everyone realized how many there were. Then there were missions when the Order tried to find the bits of Voldemort's soul, sometimes resulting in severe injuries and even a couple fatalities. The people who died were taken back to Hogwarts and given full burials, missed and mourned by all.

Then the atmosphere of the memories changed: it began to feel more like a full out war rather than a series of minor attacks. There were large-scale battles instead of guerrilla warfare. Hermione and her friends Ron and Harry were always at the forefront; for every Death Eater the others killed they killed at least two or three. Their skill was both amazing and terrible. Dumbledore also noticed that he was there for almost every big attack, right at the front with Hermione. Now he understood why she had used his first name. It came as a huge shock when he saw himself die, to see himself fall while defending Hogwarts. The Death Eaters had finally breached the defences and the school was overrun, the casualties innumerable. One memory stood out more than the others - Dumbledore guessed it was a turning point in Hermione's life.

Hermione just looked at the dead body of her friend with acceptance written all over her face and reached down to close it's now blank eyes. She carefully took off a necklace and wedding band and picked up their wand. Covering the body, she muttered a spell and a mound of dirt covered it. Then she just turned and walked away, never looking back. It seemed that by this point she had seen so much death and suffering that her heart had hardened and now she just did what needed to be done. She started to accept the deaths as they came and was not longer able to mourn them individually. It was then that Dumbledore realized that the entire time they'd talked Hermione had not shed a single tear, not once looked sad or depressed - just defeated.

Dumbledore also noticed that after awhile she charmed a purse hanging around her neck to collect the wands and personal affects of the fallen. There were short clips of Hermione breaking into museums and packing - or stuffing - art and artifacts into the same pouch. He saw her raid the Ministry of Magic, gathering piles of documents and handfuls of dangerous items from the Department of Mysteries. As she and the few others who were with her ran out, Death Eaters swarmed the place. Dumbledore had to admire her foresight.

He saw as she began to explore a different type of magic, creating spells and incantations that didn't quite fall into the category of the Dark Arts but that wasn't quite light either. A few times he heard her refer to it as the 'Grey Arts'. It made him sad to see someone so good heading towards the fuzzy line between good and evil. However, he also noticed that what she did she did for good, and there were some lines she never crossed.

He could not believe the horrors this woman had faced - he himself could barely stand seeing them. He understood why she refused to accompany him into her memories; there are some things that a person should never see once, let alone twice. He watched as thousands of people trying to save the world. With every death the faces of those left became a little harder, a little less forgiving. About two years into the war he noticed that those on the 'good' side were slowly coming to use the killing curse, and he found that he didn't disagree with their choice. For once in his life he fully believed that some people deserved to die. It did lighten his heart to see that they never resorted to the other Unforgivables - apparently those were still seen as taboo. After watching three years of memories he couldn't stand it. The events which had transpired were too much for him; he knew that if he continued he would go insane. He knew that he was not strong enough to stay, so he did what he had vowed to never do again - he ran. Pulling his head from the pensive he turned to face the woman in his office who had lived through all this. He looked at her and was speechless. What kind of person could endure that? How was she able to sit in a chair knowing that this was what the future held? He now understood why her eyes seemed so empty.

Hermione looked away from the pendulum she had been watching and came out of her trance. "Albus." She said, glancing at her watch. "That was quick. Why are you back so soon? There were four years of memories in there." Then she noticed his expression and she broke a little more inside, something she hadn't thought possible. "You didn't finish, did you?" It was more a statement than a question.

"I am so sorry," he said, grief and guilt written over his face. "I couldn't stay. I don't know how you can keep living after all that."

Hermione looked up at him with a flat look in her eyes and said. "That's the thing Albus: we weren't living, we were fighting for what we knew was right. There is a difference." She took a deep breath and tried to find words to explain what had happened to those who still 'lived'. "After three years it was no longer a matter of staying alive, but rather of surviving in the hope that future generations would be allowed to live. The only good thing left in the world - the only thing we fought for - was love. Love and desperation, that's what kept us going. But having love was not enough to really live. It gave us strength; nothing more, nothing less. You were right, many years ago, when you said that love was a power the Dark Lord had not."

Dumbledore sat with his head in his hands. "Love." He said quietly. "The greatest thing in the world and it became a weapon?"

Hermione looked at the man who had taught them to love in times of war. She got up and walked over to him, then lifted his chin she looked him in the eye. "You misunderstand me." She said, watching tears run down a face younger than any she had seen him wear. "Love was not a weapon, it was the one thing we could hold on to. It was our bond, what kept us together till the end. Yes, in a way it became a tool, but never a weapon." She returned to her chair and they sat in silence until the sun peeked its face through the windows.

They spent the next day talking, or rather, Hermione talked and Dumbledore listened. She told him everything from when Harry was first marked by Voldemort to when the Dark Lord rose again in the graveyard. She told him how they started the hunt for the Horcruxes, and how one by one they forced Voldemort back into the mortal realm. She related how the Death Eaters gained power, how no matter how hard they tried the Order of the Phoenix could not keep up with the spread of evil. She explained how Hogwarts became a refuge and that it eventually housed every single living witch or wizard who didn't serve Voldemort. As soon as she noticed Dumbledore begin to succumb to despair Hermione started talking about some of the good. How people finally came to realize that they all had to stand together. She told him of the Death Eaters that turned from Voldemort and joined the dwindling ranks of those who opposed him. In particular she mentioned Severus and Draco, but not by name – that was still too painful - who were among the first. She also told him of all the spells and potions they discovered or invented; how to remove a Dark Mark; a way to draw and send magical power across long distances; a cure for lycanthropy; a potion to make you impervious to the Imperious curse; how to recover from the Cruciatus curse; and many many more. However, as soon as she saw that he was no longer on the verge of tears (something she really wanted to avoid) she went back to explaining the progression of the war. She ended by telling him how the last of them fell, taking most - but not all - of the Death Eaters with them.

She finished by telling him of their last stand. How by the end everyone was dead - the entire Order, Harry, Snape, him, Moody, the Weasleys - and how she'd been their last hope and had failed. How together she, Ron and Harry had taken out all the remaining Death Eaters but that Ron went down in a last moment of grief and Harry went willingly to save Hermione and kill the last piece of Voldemort which was held inside of him. They had fought bitterly and they had lost.

After she finished talking Hermione felt a tiny piece of her soul start to stitch itself back together. Dumbledore, on the other hand, felt as though his heart was shattering into a million pieces.

"Thank you, Albus." She said after a few moments of silence during which her words had hung in the air.

Dumbledore looked up. "For what? I have done nothing."

"For listening to my story; you are the only other person in this world who knows what happened."

"Well..." Dumbledore said hesitantly. "I'm glad that I could help, even in this small way. I cannot imagine what it must have been like, carrying all that on your..." His voice trailed away.

Hermione stood up and walked over to the pensive, after collecting her thoughts and putting them back where they belonged she turned to him. "Albus," She started, not knowing how to say or do this but with the knowledge that for the sake of his sanity it must be done. "I'm going to do something now and I beg you not to stop me."

Dumbledore's head shot up and looked her straight in the eyes - he knew what she planned to do and no matter how much he wanted it he couldn't let her do that to herself. "Hermione, no."

"You cannot live knowing all that." She said sadly. "But don't worry, I won't take it all, just those things which would eat at your soul as they already have mine."

Dumbledore raised his wand to stop her, but after years of fighting Hermione was faster. His wand flew from his hand and landed in hers. The look on Dumbledore's face was one of complete and utter shock, it had been 40 years since he was last disarmed and he hadn't thought it possible. But Hermione had fought for so long that this sort of thing was instinctual and she performed so much magic that she no longer needed to speak or even wave her wand for most spells. And this one, this one she didn't even need a wand for; disarming was the first of many spells she had learned to do wandlessly.

"This is for your own good and you know it," she said quietly. Hermione then proceeded to pull memories of the horrors of the war from Dumbledore's mind. She was careful to leave enough that he would still know the extent of what she had gone through. She also left his mental reactions to what he had seen in the pensive and what he had felt during her story because it was important for him to remember _why_ she'd done what she did. One thought in particular she highlighted - she could have planted a similar thought in his head, of that she was more than capable - but instead she just emphasized this one. _Merlin,_ he had thought, _this is awful. I don't know how she survived. I would have gone insane._ There was a pause. _And now that I have seen some of what she saw I probably will. Oh how I wish I could forget._ She brought this one reaction to the very front of his mind so he would know why he couldn't remember. She also emphasized the words the universe had spoken the day before, "_Save me, my girl. Only you know what is to come."_"Obliviate," she muttered, and finished the spell.

Dumbledore blinked twice and looked around the room, confused for a moment. Then his eyes fell on Hermione. "Why did you do that?" He asked. "You had no right to invade my mind and take those."

"I had all the right in this world and the next," Hermione stated flatly. "I cannot have you sacrificing your mind just to relieve some of my burden. There are people here who need you, I will not take you from them." She looked at him and knew he was grateful for what she had done, she just hoped he had the decency to tell her.

"I-" he started. "You - " he tried again. Finally he deflated and crumpled back into his chair. "Thank you," he said almost imperceptibly. "You have no idea what that means to me. I hope you know that I now hold you in the highest of regards. Whatever you need, whatever you want, just mention it and I will give it to you. Anything, anything at all."

Hermione smiled at Dumbledore from where she was still standing. "I need you to help me destroy him now." She looked down upon him, daring him to say what he should in this sort of situation. As a time traveller, she should not be allowed to change the past, but she knew - and hoped that he did too - that the universe had sent her here to change it. She was prepared to do whatever necessary to make sure that she followed through with this task.

"Yes," Dumbledore said and nodded his head once, "We will prevent that apocalypse from happening."

"Thank you," she said and returned his wand.

"Now. On a completely different note." He said, shaking his head to move what he remembered of their previous discussion to the back of his mind. "We need to decide what to do with you."

"Excuse me?" Hermione asked, completely taken off guard.

"You need a place to stay, do you not?"

"Oh, yeah. I guess I do." She had lived on the run for the last year, so the thought of having an actual place to stay had not even occurred to her.

"I could have a house ready for you by this evening if you like. No one would bother you there, you could live in peace for a change."

"Um." In truth, Hermione didn't really want a place of her own. She had never lived on her own before; she was only 18. Then it occurred to her that she didn't look 18 - she probably looked much older - to him. "I suppose I could do that," she said hesitantly. She didn't know how to tell Dumbledore her age, or if he would even believe her when she told him.

"You don't sound too enthusiastic," he observed.

"Well, the thing is, I've never lived on my own before. Even during the war I always had Ron, Ginny and Harry around. I'm not sure I would be able to stand the loneliness."

"Never?" He asked. "How is that?"

"Well," she said, "I'm only eighteen."

Dumbledore slumped back in his chair and stared at her. Eighteen? She could not possibly be eighteen. She looked thirty. Her face and arms were laced with scars and fading bruises, her face had premature wrinkles and her eyes a slightly sunken look. " Oh," he said softly.

Hermione looked at him, confused for a moment. Then she realized that she had not been very specific with the time line - she had left out ages and dates. This was mostly because they had ceased to be relevant during the war; it had gotten to the point where you could either fight or you couldn't, age really didn't have much to do with it. "I'm sorry," she said, "I must have left that out."

"Don't worry about it. It just came as a bit of a shock. You have been through so much I just assumed it had been a little more spread out." There was a very long pause as his mind tried to catch up with the conversation and then figure out an alternate solution.

"Have you finished your studies," he asked?

Hermione snorted and then started laughing bitterly. "Seriously? You're asking me about school?"

Dumbledore just looked at her pointedly. "I've been fighting since the end of my fourth year! Hogwarts ceased being a school a few months after the war broke out. Everything I know I learned during the war. I may not have had a formal education but I can promise you that my skills and knowledge far outweigh those of the students here."

"Yes, they probably do," Dumbledore said calmly. "Would you like to complete your education? I understand that, as you said earlier, you know more than the students here, but would you like to have a certificate to prove it?"

Hermione paused. She hadn't even considered that. The school had been closed for so long that she had almost forgotten it existed. "Um," she said, "But we have to work on stopping Voldemort before he gets too powerful, don't we?"

Dumbledore smiled softly, "Ah but you see, you are not alone anymore. The war is only just beginning, the Order is still intact. We have time. _You_ have time. And from what I can remember," he glanced at her with a mixture of gratitude and annoyance, "we only have five Horcruxes to destroy, and one of them isn't a living, breathing human being. We know where and what they are. Therefore, I believe that you can have at _least_a year of relative peace to heal your wounds before you jump back into the fight."

"Oh," was all Hermione could say for at least ten minutes. Then, "But aren't I too old for school? I may only be eighteen, but I promise you I look older than that." Dumbledore tried to protest but she held her hand up. "Don't." She said. "I know it and you know it. War ages a person. Look at me." She said sadly. "Look at me and see if you can say I don't look old."

Dumbledore knew he couldn't argue with that without insulting her intelligence, so he didn't try. After a few moments of silence he remembered something mentioned years ago. "I believe there is a way to change that."

Hermione looked at him incredulously; she knew thousands of spells and potions and remedies, none of them could cure this particular disease - ageing.

"I have heard of a spell that was used in cases such as your's, hundreds of years ago. It was invented by Merlin himself, if I remember correctly. I believe it allows the broken body of a hero to be restored. It is very old magic and has certain conditions and consequences, but I believe it fits your situation perfectly. I will have to look it up to be sure. Please wait here a moment." He disappeared into his personal library and returned a short while later with an ancient book.

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><p><strong>Author's Note (#2):<strong>  
>The next chapters may be a long time coming so to avoid any angry messages I will tell you now that Merlin is very smart and Hermione counts as a hero with a broken body. Draw your own conclusions.<p>

Thanks again to City Lights for the beta!

Please review! It doesn't take very long, I promise. **And**, I have my e-mail set to send the reviews _directly_ to my inbox...they make really _really_ good reminders and are great for motivation. Coffee (or hot chocolate if you aren't a caffeine addict like me) and ice cream or cookies (or maybe both if you make it a long one) to those who review!


	4. Merlin's Gift

**Preventing the Future – Merlin's Gift  
><strong>

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><p>Disclaimer: Anything you recognize does not belong to me.<p>

Sorry for the wait...

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><p>Hermione was surprised when Dumbledore returned so quickly, she had expected him to need time to search for what she guessed was a very old book. However, while she might have been wrong about how long it would take him to find it she was correct about it's age. The book was falling apart, pages barely holding onto the spine, and the paper was warped and water-stained. The cover was completely illegible. Dumbledore sat carefully turning the pages until he found what he was looking for.<p>

"Now, this is a rough translation as this was written in Old English, by Merlin himself. It says _'When one has been grasped at by the fingers of evil, when they have witnessed the horror of battle, held in the grip of the devil, their souls are scarred beyond recognition. Their body becomes a shell, their mind a shadow, few can survive such an atrocity. There are some though, whose mind is stronger than their body, whose soul endures this barbarity. But none are left untouched. Those whose who kept their mind and soul have sacrificed something else, their body. However, the world needs such people, it needs those who can stand tall in the face of great evil. Therefore I say that they be allowed to live to fight another day. I give you this incantation so that such people can do so. But be warned, this can only be used for someone who has made such a sacrifice, should anyone else attempt it they will find themselves in an eternal hell. You have been warned.' _Under the writing there is a short spell written in perfect script. '_Vidoratus is infractus somes, sino a vir ut thrive iterum.' _"

"What does it mean?" Hermione asked.

"Heal this broken body, allow a hero to live again."

"Oh. I'm not sure that really includes me."

"Are you sure? From what I can see you are definitely a hero with a broken body who needs to thrive again." As he said this Dumbledore looked her straight in the eyes and then carefully examined her face and arms once again. "As you said before, war ages a person. And I don't mean to be rude here and please excuse me for saying this but you look like you're 30."

Hermione didn't really react to this. She knew she looked old, she felt old. And she was glad that Dumbledore respected her enough not to lie to her or try to sweeten the truth. She just nodded her head and said, "I know."

"And," Dumbledore continued. "Your face and arms are covered in scars and bruises. If the rest of you looks anything like them then you have a broken body. And I don't want you to argue about the hero part because you are the most heroic person this world has seen in a long time. If you look deep down inside yourself I think you will see that too."

Hermione didn't say anything; there was nothing to say.

Then Dumbledore mentioned the one thing they hadn't talked about yet, and perhaps the most important one. "There is also that voice to consider, I don't know what it meant about 'saving it' but I am positive that it was talking to you and you alone. Can you explain?"

"Um." Hermione slumped in her chair a bit. She had been thinking about that the whole time they had been talking. "I'm not completely sure about this but I think that was the world, the earth, the sky, the universe. It was telling me to save it."

"How's that?"

"As you saw, the future is terrible." Here, once again Dumbledore gave her a grateful look, silently thanking her for removing the images of that time from his mind. "In fact, everything had been divided into light and dark and we, those of us who made the last stand, were all that was left of the light. Everything, and I mean everything else had fallen to the darkness and hate that was spread from Voldemort. And without the light, there can be no dark, and without those there is nothing. The cosmos must be in relative balance, dark and light are always at odds with one another but they are both needed for the universe to exist. That is one of the reasons that we fought so hard, we knew that if we failed, all would be lost. Not to sound pompous or anything but at the end I was all that was left of the light. And I was dying." She took a deep breath, something she seemed to be doing a lot of lately. "As a last resort the universe pulled me back to a time where I could help, I think."

"I figured as much." Dumbledore said, deep in thought. "The balance must be kept. Therefore, I see no reason what-so-ever to not do the spell." Before she could protest, he waved his wand over her and said in a deep, magic-laden voice "Vidoratus is infractus somes, sino a vir ut thrive iterum."

For a few seconds Hermione felt like she was floating on nothing then she woke up and found herself laying in a bed with crisp white sheets and staring up at a bright white ceiling. She looked around and it took her a few minutes to realize where she was, the Hospital Wing. She was laying in a bed, behind a screen, in the Hospital Wing in Hogwarts. Suddenly memories of that afternoon came rushing back, her conversation with Dumbledore, the book, the spell. The spell! She looked down at her arms and saw that even though she still had the scars, they had faded. She reached over to the bedside table and grabbed a small mirror that was placed there. Hesitantly she moved it in front of her face. What she saw astonished her, the scars on her face had faded even more than the ones on her arms, you could only see them if you looked really close and knew what you were looking for, even then they were hard to distinguish. It was as though they were nothing but a memory. The bruises had all disappeared, and the wrinkles... The wrinkles were gone, every single one of them. She ran her fingers across her skin, she...she was...she was young again! Her skin was smooth and unmarked, she had the face of the 18 year old which she was. If she hadn't forgotten how, she would have smiled.

There was movement in her peripheral vision and instinctively she disarmed whoever it was, jumped out of bed and swung to face them. She did all this despite the fact that her wand was on the table next to her and her head felt like it was about to burst into a million pieces.

Madam Pomfrey stood at Hermione's bedside, shocked. Her wand had just flown out of her pocket and into Hermione's hand and Hermione was now standing, in full defense mode, facing her. She shouldn't even be able to move her head let alone perform magic and jump out of bed!

"Oh." Hermione said when she realized who it was. "Madam Pomfrey." She floated her wand back to her and then sat on the bed successfully ignoring the throbbing in her head; she had been through much worse.

"My dear, you should be laying down. You just underwent one of the most powerful healing processes known to wizard-kind. I don't know how you can move but you really shouldn't be."

_Ah_ Thought Hermione, _That would explain the headache._ "Right, I'll do that." She said and promptly fell back onto the comfy pillow. It had been so long since she had lain in a real bed that she had almost forgotten what it felt like; and that was comfy.

"Here, this should help with your head." Madam Pomfrey tipped a potion down her throat.

Hermione felt the headache vanish, "Thank you." She said gratefully. Madam Pomfrey just smiled and started checking her over with her wand. Hermione was transfixed by that smile, she hadn't seen anyone smile that gently for months. Sure, people had smiled in victory or in desperate love but they were never soft. And she, Ron, Harry and Ginny hadn't really smiled at all during the last year of the war, they had just been through too much. In fact, they had hardly even talked. They knew each other so well that all they had to do was look in their eyes and see the love, the pain, or the sad triumph. She was just dozing off when something else moved in the corner of her eye, once again she sprung into action, disarming them even before she saw them. It was just something you did during the war, if you didn't have reflexes like that then you didn't stay alive; the four of them figured that out quite early on and that was one of the reasons they had lasted as long as they did. When she finally turned around she saw that it was Dumbledore. Once again, she floated the wand back to it's owner. The only difference between this time and the last was that her head was no longer pounding. "Sorry," She muttered as she sat back down on the bed. "Habit."

"That's quite alright." Dumbledore cheerfully responded with a smile.

_Wow, that's a big difference from yesterday. He's all happy again. It's almost like back when we didn't know about any of this, like first year..._

"It's a good skill to have." Dumbledore continued, "And thank you for returning my wand so promptly."

"You're welcome." She responded.

"I think I should tell you." Dumbledore said. "That I have only been disarmed twice in the last 40 years, both in the last week and both by you. It is really quite impressive."

Hermione smiled weakly. Then what he said sunk in. "WEEK?" She yelled; bringing Pomfrey running. "I've been in here a week? How is that possible?"

Dumbledore did an amazing job of covering up his shock at her outburst. "The spell I used on you is very old, very powerful magic. It works differently than the magic we used today. I can only guess as to the reason for your long recovery, but after some further reading I think I can safely say that you first had to be judged, to see if you were worthy, and that that could have taken a while; then, you had to recover. Your entire body was covered in wounds, old and new, they were each healed individually and that took a while. Also from what I could tell, they were each judged separately, and healed according to how much bravery/heroism was needed to receive them and how they would effect your life and future. I think that by now you will have noticed the ones on your face have been completely erased."

"Oh." Hermione said. "But I can still faintly see them."

"That would be your imagination dear, you know they were there and expect to see them, even if they were greatly faded." He watched as Hermione once again picked up the mirror beside her, and held it up. She ran her hand over her cheek bone and done her jaw.

"They're gone." She breathed. "All of them. They're really gone."

"Yes." Dumbledore said with yet another smile. "And you look like the girl you are, or at least the girl you should have been. Young and carefree." Then he chuckled. "Or as carefree as someone just about to start in on their NEWTS should be."

"NEWTS?" Hermione said. "Really, I can do them? When is it in the year? Have I missed much? When I left I think it was November or something, we kinda stopped keeping track." For the first time in a long time she was actually showing hope and a bit of excitement on her face, it was faint but you could still see it.

"Of course you can still do them." Dumbledore said. "And the school year hasn't even started yet, it is August 25th. I'd say, given your age and experience you can start 7th year in the fall. I dare say it should be interesting, you will have a ... boisterous group of people to interact with."

"Albus -" Hermione started, but Dumbledore cut her off.

"Now that you will be a student here I must insist you call me Dumbledore, Professor or Sir. I know that in your future we worked together and were on a first name basis but now we must revert back to headmaster and student."

"Oh." Hermione said. She hadn't even thought about that, she had been out of school for so long and they had been working and fighting together for so long that she had almost forgotten that he used to be her headmaster. "I will work on that...Sir."

"Anyway, please continue."

"Right, I was going to say that I completely forgot to ask what year it is...I mean...I might know some of the people..." She imagined going to school with Charlie or Bill, or even Molly, she might have a hard time around them. It's not that she wouldn't be able to control her emotions but rather that it would hurt her to see them so happy and alive when she had already mourned for them, and moved on. She was afraid that she would be swamped with guilt for letting these happy people die. Especially because after the first couple years she had become numb to their deaths, they died and she grieved but not nearly as much as she should have. She stopped shedding tear for the dead after the second year. They were murdered and she just walked away, her heart got to the point where it had broken so many times it became impossible to put it back together. And she stopped trying.

"Well," Dumbledore said. "You didn't mention any names except those of your good friends so I don't know if you will know any of the people here but it is 1977. What house were you in, if you don't mind me asking. We will of course sort you officially but I can't see you going somewhere new."

"I was in Gryffindor." Hermione said. "And I loved it, while it lasted."

"I see. Now, 7th year Gryffindors..." Dumbledore grinned, something he hadn't done in a while, and said. "Of the girls we have Alice Smitheson, Emily Davenport, Lily Evans and Christina Sicily." Hermione's face paled. "For boys, we have Remus Lupin, Peter Pettigrew, Sirius Black, and James Potter. The year will be interesting to say the least."

Hermione looked like she was about to be sick, her face was white and her hands were shaking. "No no no no, this can't be happening to me. This isn't happening." She stared wide eyed at the floor. "Oh Merlin, not them, anyone but them." She started trembling on the bed. "Not them, not them, not them..." She continued muttering to herself.

Dumbledore immediately noticed that something was wrong, Hermione looked like death warmed over and had started muttering to herself. All he could make out was what she kept repeating. "Not them." _Oh dear._ He thought. _She knew them. All of them. And they're dead. This will either end terribly or it will help her move on. I doubt there will be anything in between._

Hermione couldn't believe it, of all the people she could have met in the past, she had to meet the five that would shape the future of the world. The five who meant so much. Why? She was glad that the universe had given her a chance (or rather, ordered her) to prevent the future but why did it have to be here, now? _Wait. Maybe this is a good thing...they are really important to the future right?_ She asked herself. _Well, then I can use them to help change it! And I know about them, a lot about them. I can get them to trust me and use their strengths and weaknesses to my advantage._ She answered herself. She didn't notice that a) she was planning on manipulating her old friends and the parents of her friends and b) Dumbledore was looking at her very strangely. _Yes._ She decided. _This is good._

"Sorry, sir." Hermione said, looking at Dumbledore with what he would call a devious look in her eye, and not the good kind. "I spaced out for a moment."

"I saw that." Dumbledore said. "I'm going to make a guess here and say that you knew some of these people. Is that correct?"

"Yes sir, it is. I knew some of them and knew _of_ others. But don't worry, I'll be fine. It will be nice to get to know them, without the war loom. I didn't have the chance to meet some of them because they died in the first war."

"I see." Said Dumbledore. "May I ask which ones?"

"I'd rather not answer that question sir." Hermione said politely. "I'm not sure you would appreciate the answer and I don't really want to relive it. Again."

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><p>Reviews are great!<p> 


	5. Talking Magic With a Hat

**Preventing the Future**

**Chapter Five - Talking Magic with a Hat**

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><p>Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter.<p>

Sorry for the wait, I will try to get the next one up in a week or so.

Huge thanks go to MaggieQ for her amazing help and advice, editing with you is SO much fun!

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><p>After Dumbledore got over the fact that Hermione wouldn't be sharing details of the future with him, he fire-called Minerva, Horace, Filius and Pomona so that they could officially sort Hermione. Hermione had insisted that she keep her name and that she would come up with a way to make sure people didn't make the connection between her and the new version who would be born in a couple of years.<p>

Once all the heads of house had assembled in Dumbledore's office Hermione sat on a chair and someone plopped the sorting hat on her head. She heard the familiar voice and then proceeded to do what Harry had done their first year; she had a conversation with a hat.

"Hmm, you're a bit old."

"Hey, I take offense at that; I will have you know that despite outwards appearances I am only 18."

"Outwards appearances? You look 18 to me – if I had eyes, which I don't. Oh, I see now, you think of yourself as scarred. Well lookie here, this is very interesting; I haven't seen anything like this before, quite the combination. That's very impressive. But that doesn't change the fact that you are a little old, usually you would just do independent study..."

"I'll have you know that this was Dumbledore's idea, he thought it would be better for me to finish studying at Hogwarts before taking my NEWTS, despite the fact that I could ace everything I wanted to take, with the possible exception of History of Magic, Astronomy and Arithmancy."

"Oh yes, Dumbledore - he is a tricky little man."

Hermione was slightly amused that the hat called Dumbledore 'little' and 'tricky' but was not accustomed to laughing or smiling so neither occurred.

"Lets see, I think we have a few choices for you here; oh good gracious, this is going to be difficult. You are a genius, that much is obvious, so Ravenclaw would suite you nicely in that regard. But you are also brave, brave beyond belief I see. And loyalty - goodness you have an overflowing amount of loyalty. However, I can see everything floating around in your mind. The things you have done, the killing, the running, the loss, the growing hatred, resentment. Your soul is almost as hard as a rock. This typically points to Slytherin... What _do_ I do with you...? Now, what's this, Dark Arts? My my, you have been a busy one, walking on the fence a bit are we?"

"Mr. Sorting Hat." Hermione cut in. "I would like you to know, before you start to judge me – even though that is your job – that all the stuff I did, I did not do it out of malice or hatred. I know that towards the end that seems rather hard to believe but it is true. If you look deep enough you will see the intentions were pure. Also, a side note, that wasn't actually Dark Arts, it was more in the grey area."

"Interesting, I will take that into consideration. Loyal, brave, tricky, smart, cunning, hard working, independent, selfless...wow, you _really_ are a tricky one." There was silence and the hat seemed to be digging around in her head, looking for something.

"Ah ha!" It announced. "Found it."

"Found what?" Hermione asked.

"Your spark." It said smugly.

"My what?"

"Your spark, that which makes you tick. I see now, you are what you are mostly because of selflessness and loyalty, and you do it through determination and bravery. Damn it, you also use your smarts and cunning to do things properly. Your spark is annoying, it's not narrowing it down much; but still, it seems to be leaning more towards bravery and genius."

"Okay, why didn't you just find this spark thingy at the beginning?"

The Sorting Hat snorted, "Because usually the students aren't this difficult, and it takes time."

"Well, now that you've found my 'spark' what exactly does it tell you?"

"It tells me that what you've done you did out of respect for others, out of dedication to others, to try and better the lives of others, because you care for them. This would put you in Huffelpuff, however, you also follow your instincts, you run on impulse, and that's Gryffindor. But you couldn't get any of it done without your extensive knowledge. Geez, why are you so difficult?"

"Um, I thought you dug around in my brain, shouldn't you know?"

"Okay, fine. Sit still, I will go through everything."

Meanwhile, Dumbledore and the others were staring at Hermione as if she had grown another head, never, in all their years at the school had a sorting taken this long. Minerva turned to Albus with a very stern expression on her face.

"Is there something you'd like to tell us about this 'new girl'? She seems to be rather unique." The other Heads looked expectantly at the headmaster.

Albus sighed, "I was going to wait and have her explain but it seems that that may be a while so I suppose I could tell you." He then proceeded to tell them her story, albeit an edited version; Hermione just kept talking with the hat.

"You are a very odd hat. You know, it didn't take nearly this long the first time around."

"The first time? Holy Godric's puffed up sleeves! How on Merlin's bungled up Earth did I miss that?"

"For a hat you sure do have colourful vocabulary. Do you mind telling me what has you all in a twist?"

"You're from the _future!"_

"Yeah, you didn't figure that out the first time? For something that's supposed to read a person's mind you're not doing a very good job."

"Hey, lay off the insults! I have a tough job here! Anyway, it seems that your magic decided to only allow me access to information that would help in your sorting, it somehow managed to hide _everything_ else. You are one amazing girl. Did you hide this on purpose?"

"No, I didn't think a person could hide anything from you. I mean, I have the toughest Occulmency shields around but I took them down for you."

"Ahhhhhhh! Sentient Magic! Your magic is alive!"

"Care to explain?"

"Well, um...your magic is talking to me now."

"It's talking to _you?_ It's my magic, it should be talking to me!"

"Yeah...about that. She doesn't know how to talk to you, yet."

"She? My magic is a girl?"

"Apparently so. Hmm, this is very interesting." The hat went silent.

Hermione rolled her eyes and huffed. "Care to share?"

"Oh, right. Well, she says that even though you could go in every house, you would be most powerful if I placed you in Gryffindor."

"How could my magic possibly know that?"

"Well, she says she knows everything about you; past, present, future, and the other future. That's intriguing, I'd like to explore this with you, and your magic. We could have some great talks us three. But for now, I think we have kept the professors waiting long enough - they seem to have forgotten about us."

The hat lifted it's fringe just enough so Hermione could peek out, sure enough, the headmaster and professors had conjured some comfy chairs and were calmly sipping tea while having a quiet conversation. She gave a mental snort and said, "We could just keep talking, they seem to be doing just fine without us."

"Sounds good to me. Now, about this Sentient Magic thing, I think I remember Rowena and Salazar researching something similar when they were building the castle."

"Really? How can I find out about that? Do they have notes?"

"I think they wrote some sort of book about it, not just about Hogwarts but also about how they thought magic might be sentient. I'm not sure if they ever found proof, or if they figured out how to talk to magic but they certainly tried."

"That's all well and good but where _is_ the book?"

"Hmm, I'm not sure I'm allowed to tell you this."

"Allowed to tell me what?"

"Well, there's this room, it's called the Founder's Hall, it has everything in it. It's like the heart of the school."

"Wow, I've never heard of it. Where is it?"

"Well, the reason you've never heard of it is that it only reveals itself to the Founder's Heir, someone who is the heir to all the founders."

"Wouldn't that take like, forever, to happen? I mean, you'd have to find someone who had a parent from Slytheryn and Gryffindor. In this day and age that is highly improbable."

"I think you misunderstand, when I say heir, I don't mean by blood, I mean by spirit or soul. Someone who has all the qualities of all the founders; someone like you."

"Me? That's why you're telling me this, you think I'm the heir?"

"You do remember how long it took me to sort you?"

"We haven't actually done that yet you know." Hermione reminded the hat as a side note.

"Yeah, whatever. Anyway, I think you're the heir and I think you could get into the hall."

"Okay, one problem: I don't know where it is."

"The only entrance I can tell you about it the one in the Astronomy tower, there are other ways to get there but they are sealed from the inside so you will have to get in first."

"So, Astronomy tower, what do I do?"

"Just touch the wall next to the door and think about your need."

"What need?"

"Your need to get into the hall, obviously!."

"Hey, no insults. I'm doing my best here."

"Yeah, I know. Hey, when you find it, let me know will ya? I can probably answer some of your questions."

"Don't worry, I will. Now, about this sorting we were supposed to be doing?"

"Right, how about we give them a bit of a scare?" With that the hat took a deep breath (or so it seemed) and yelled,

"Gryffindor!"

There were a few muffled yells from the professors and Horace even fell of his chair spilling his tea all over his lilac coloured vest.

Dumbledore quickly regained his composure. "Ah, I see you are finished being sorted.

The heads of house just stared at her, in awe that she had taken so long to sort and in annoyance for startling them. Apparently, that was _**the**_ longest sorting they had ever seen, by about 20 minutes.

"Okay." Dumbledore said after a moment. "This is Professor McGonagall, she is head of the Transfiguration department and head of Gryffindor house. She will show you to your dorm."

Minerva shook her hand and gestured her to the door.

"Thank you Miner- I mean, Professor McGonagall." Hermione tried to cover her slip up. It was going to take some time to get used to calling Minerva 'McGonagall', Albus 'Dumbledore' and even Filius 'Flitwick' again. It was a good thing none of the other teachers were the same because she would have been in even more trouble. Well, Professor Binns was still the History of Magic teacher but she had never _ever_ been on a first name basis with him, he was a _ghost _after all.

Dumbledore was the only one who didn't look seriously confused by Hermione's mistake with Minerva's name. He just winked cheerfully and waved them all out of his office.

Hermione followed McGonagall down the corridors towards Gryffindor tower trying not to show that she knew exactly where they were going.

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><p>Reviews are nice...<p> 


	6. Planning

**Preventing the Future**

**Chapter Six – Planning**

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><p>Disclaimer: I do not own anything related to Harry Potter, this is called fanfiction for a reason.<p>

Just to note: I've decided to make this a Super(ish)-Hermione story, it's more fun to write. I know in the books she's just really smart but I think she would be cooler as an over-talented witch. My reasoning behind this is that over the course of the war she explored magic further than anyone (even Dumbledore and Voldemort). That she became more 'in-touch' with it, if you will. But whatever, it's just cool!

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><p>When McGonagall and Hermione arrived at the entrance to the Gryffindor common room they stopped and Minerva started talking.<p>

"Now Hermione, I haven't set the password yet so would you like the honour?" she asked.

"Um, sure. But, how do you actually get in? All I see is a portrait of a fairly large woman; no offense, madam." Hermione added; it was never a good idea to insult a painting, and she needed to pretend that she had no idea who this was.

The Fat Lady looked at Hermione with tears in her eyes, "No one has called me anything but fat in almost a hundred years! You see, my name is The Fat Lady. I think you and I will get along famously."

Minerva rolled her eyes at the Fat Lady's antics. "Just choose a password and see what happens."

"Okay, how about 'Life, the Universe and Everything'?"

Minerva raised an expert eyebrow, "I supposed it's as good as any other." She said, "At least no one will guess it - it makes no sense at all." Hermione gave a mental smirk, but her face betrayed nothing.

Once she had been shown to her room Hermione did her traditional security sweep before she entered, and much to her consternation she found a collection of monitoring spells ranging from listening to mood evaluation. There were also a few that she didn't recognize, which was a feat in and of itself. Upon closer examination she found one was a copying spell, every parchment that passed the door would be copied and the information sent...somewhere. There was also a passive aura and power reader; it seemed that someone - Dumbledore, she guessed with annoyance - had managed to find a way to keep track of the students. The only question was why. Why would the headmaster need to spy on his students? Or more specifically, how much of this was put in place just for Hermione and how much was routine? _I will have to figure that out later. For now, I need to get rid of these and re-think how the hell I'm going to do this._With those questions floating around in her head, she set about dismantling all the spells without alerting the professor to her changes. She had her aura read as 'slightly more talented and knowledgeable than the other students' rather than, 'amazingly powerful and of genius-level intelligence'; there was no reason for the headmaster to know that she had discovered new types of magic and utilized them. He didn't need to know that somehow she had become more powerful than him, especially since he was spying on her.

When she finished altering the spells on her room she put up her personal set of undetectable wards. Then she opened the trunk which had appeared at the foot of one of the beds, inside were some clothes and supplies that Hermione guessed had been provided by Dumbledore. Immediately suspicious, she checked them for anything odd; sure enough, there were tracking spells on the clothing and copying charms on the paper.

_This seems so out of character for Dumbledore, _she thought. _He wasn't like this in the future._

Then another voice appeared in the back of her head. _Or was he?_

All of a sudden, things started falling in place. The lack of transparency; the subtle manipulation of information; keeping the Horcruxes to himself; not telling them about the Deathly Hallows; making it so easy to get to the Philosopher's Stone; overlooking the fact that one of his students was possessed; not recognizing Moody was a fake - the list kept going on.

_Why? Why would he do that? What was there to gain by keeping us all in the dark? _The part of her that didn't want to believe all this asked.

_Maybe he liked being in control._The not-so-nice part of her answered.

_But that's totally absurd! We could have achieved so much more if we knew about all those things earlier. _Hermione thought her naivete had died long ago, but apparently a part still lived on.

_Makes you wonder, doesn't it? _The sly voice questioned.

_How could I not have noticed?_

_Because he died early on and you were too busy fighting to think about it. And he didn't have a chance to explain his reasoning._

The used-to-be-nice part of her sighed and gave up trying to trust Albus. _Well, I guess I can't rely on Albus to get this done properly - he will probably just try to use me._

_True. But then again, what was it you were planning on doing earlier? I think it was something along the lines of , _"I can use them to help change it! And I know about them, a lot about them. I can get them to trust me and use their strengths and weaknesses to my advantage." _That will make you no better than Albus._

Guilt worked it's way into Hermione's heart. It was true, she _had _been planning on simply using the people she met here.

_Merlin, I'm a terrible person._

_No, you just have to learn how to work _with _people again. Don't worry, I won't let you become a manipulative old woman._

_Oh really? And how do plan on doing that? You're just a figment of my imagination, a voice in my head._

_Sure, you keep telling yourself that._

_Oh shut up._

_Fine. _Then the random voice left her alone to her thoughts.

Half an hour later and she was still sitting up in her bed with her knees pulled against her chest. The gravity of her task had yet to fully sink in; she was only just now beginning to come to grips with it, and she didn't appreciate the feeling at all. She realized that even though she knew exactly what needed to be done she didn't actually know where to start. She knew that she needed to find and destroy all the Horcruxes which had been made, then kill Voldemort. Simple, right? Not really. Finding them would be difficult, they might not all be in the same place as they were when she came from.

There was also the problem that she was exhausted, mentally, physically and emotionally, from running and fighting for years in a war-torn world; how was she supposed to get anything done when she had to follow all the rules and laws again? How was she supposed to finish her schooling? How was she supposed to fit back into society when she had not used any of her social skills for over two years? How was she supposed to sit still in a class and listen to a teacher drone on about things she could do in her sleep, or even worse, things she knew were useless in the real world? Hermione sighed; obsessing about school and life in the 70's wouldn't get her anywhere - that was something that could wait until the school year started. Until then, she should work on her plan for winning the war before it had too much of a chance to get going.

Hermione permanently transfigured a few simple leather-bound notebooks from some parchment she found on the side table - the first step would be to sort through everything she knew. She labelled them according to the information they would contain: People; Discoveries; Horcruxes; Muggle. Looking at the five notebooks she noticed that she knew a lot more than the others did, more than she had originally thought. She took a deep breath and picked up the notebook labelled 'People' and set to work. She wrote a list of everyone she knew in Hogwarts at the time, which - considering the fact that many were either a few years older than her (in this time), a few years younger, or not born yet - was not all that long. The only people of note were the 7th year Gryffindors, Severus Snape, and Regulus Black. And the professors, of course. From there she wrote down everything she knew about each person's past and personality. Hermione paid particular attention to the future Death Eaters - she needed to remember everything so she could prevent them from making those mistakes. She also really wanted Severus' life to work out this time around, and for Regulus to _have_ a life; neither of them deserved the lot they drew in life. Peter, well, he hadn't done anything wrong _yet_, but she had no pity for him. She would have to be civil - nice, even - but that didn't mean she'd like it. In her mind his crimes were the worst, and he wasn't even sorry; Severus and Regulus were.

Next she worked on Discoveries. She divided this into three sections, 'Spells', 'Potions' and 'Other'. Here, she wrote down all the new spells and potions which had been developed in the future, many of which were her own and had never been officially written down before. In the 'Other' section she described advancements she had made in the understanding of magic (no one else was very interested in this at the time) and random magical inventions; there were four full pages dedicated to the Weasley twins (the fact that they never got to open their dream joke shop did nothing to hinder their imaginations and inventing skills). Hermione specially marked the ones she had made/developed personally so that she could make sure not to negatively affect anyone's personal future; it's not nice to take credit for something that wasn't yours. On the last page she wrote a short list labelled 'Marketable Now', where she listed spells and potions she could sell. After all, she needed some sort of income, unless she wanted to be dependent upon Dumbledore until she got a job. As an afterthought she marked a few that she could tell a select group of people about (Marauders, hint hint); this included - but was not limited to - the cure for lycanthropy. She would have made it public, but Severus would need to develop Wolfsbane before she did so because the cure was based on it.

Horcruxes was fairly straightforward; Hermione just wrote all she knew about the history of each of the four Horcruxes currently in existence: The diary, Hufflepuff's cup, Slytherin's ring, and Ravenclaw's diadem. The fifth bit was still in Voldemort, and Harry and Nagini hadn't been made in Horcruxes yet. She also made note of the four possible hiding places.

Finally, she worked on the Muggle notebook. In here she wrote down as much about the 70's as she could remember, and listed everything that didn't yet exist. As much as she was planning on completely mucking up the past and turning the future on it's head, there were some things (such as the entire Digital Revolution) that needed to happen in their own time. And as nice as it would be to have the Internet around, the world just wasn't ready for it quite yet.

Hermione took a deep breath and let it out slowly, feeling much better now that everything was down on paper; she had a starting point. But now that it was written down, there was another problem: It could be read by anyone. So the next thing she did was place every imaginable secrecy spell on the notebooks; by the time she was done they might as well have never existed. Hermione then tucked them into a small pouch hanging on a cord tucked her shirt.

Made of a deep green canvas with blue swirls embroidered on it, the pouch was secured with a silver clasp at the top of a similar design. The pouch had been a gift from her mother on her 15th birthday; originally intended to be a coin purse, what it now held was more valuable than coins could ever be. During the war when they had needed to keep moving, Hermione kept all her stuff as well as other peoples' in here so it wouldn't get lost or be stolen. The inside of the pouch went on for ages - the entire Great Hall could have fit in there. The inside of the pouch was divided into compartments of varying sizes and appearances; near the top there was a relatively small section that vaguely resembled a normal purse, into which she placed the notebooks.

Looking through the trunk again, Hermione noted that the casual clothing was hideous. Now, Hermione wasn't really into fashion that much, but light blue bell bottoms? Pants that really should have been called skirts? Bright, multicoloured shirts? There was no way she was going to be wearing any of this. A trip to Diagon Alley would be needed. Following that train of thought Hermione thought back to her money problem; she would need to patent and sell some of her spells fairly soon, and do it in such a way that Dumbledore would never know it was her...

_Ah ha! I will sell them to the Department of Mysteries advanced spell development! They would pay lots of money to get their hands on some of this stuff, it's not as if the regular experimental spell department would have any idea what to do with them. Though I will require a new name - it wouldn't do to have the ministry come knocking at the school asking questions._

It took her a while, but after reading up on the origins of words she decided to go by the name of Erlichia Invencio, which translated to 'early invention'. She knew that people - especially the Unspeakables - would immediately recognize it as a pseudonym, but she couldn't really bring herself to care. Once Hermione had decided on a few spells to let them play with, she decided that the rest could wait - after all, the war didn't get _really _nasty until after they graduated, so she had plenty of time to get everything else sorted out. Now she could just lay back and enjoy sleeping fearlessly on a real bed.

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><p>Points to you if you can pick out the sci-fi book reference... =D (You either know what I'm talking about or not, there's nothing in between.)<p>

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><p>I really like reviews, they help me write... (And they're not that hard to do, you just press the little button down at the bottom the says 'Review Chapter'!)<p> 


	7. New Life

**Preventing the Future**

**Chapter Seven – New Life**

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><p>Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter...funny that.<p>

Now, you can thank jujulicia for this update, really nice reviews tend to give a person a bit of motivation. Anyway, on with the story!

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><p>The next morning Hermione woke at 5 am (as usual), feeling better than she had in years, even better than when she woke up in the hospital wing. Here she felt safe, she felt like she was at home, surrounded by the familiar red and gold colours with the early morning sun streaming in through the simple stained glass windows - it was perfect. It took her a moment to remember what had happened in the last week (but what actually felt like two days for her) but then the memories came rushing back and she sat up straight in bed. Battle, Voldemort, falling, Hogwarts, Dumbledore, talking, pensive, memory charm, spell, hospital wing, sorting, Gryffindor, the Marauders, dorm, more spells, Dumbledore, notebooks, decisions, money, spells, sleep... She collapsed back into the pillows, <em>Woah! That's a lot of stuff.<em> Then she lay there working out a game plan, she had exactly a week until the rest of the students arrived at the school and she had a lot that needed to be done. She reached into her pouch (which was _always_ around her neck) and pulled out the four notebooks. She transfigured another paper into a small, flip-top pad; at the top of the first page she wrote 'To Do'. The very first thing on the page was 'Take an hour long shower', she was damned if she wasn't going to take advantage of the luxuries now available to her. The second was 'Re-modify Dumbledore's memory', he was so intent on controlling everything that he would probably muck things up. He just didn't know enough. _Or, _she added, _have the integrity, to do things carefully._ What he didn't know couldn't hurt him (or anyone else for that matter). She would find other allies in this fight, probably the Marauders, and definitely Lily. After all, it would be really hard to keep anything from the Marauders, and sharing a room with someone makes it rather difficult to have secrets; especially if you spend a lot of your time with them, as Hermione was probably going to end up doing. She made a promise to the future memory of Harry that she would get to know his parents for him, it was the least she could do. Shaking her head to clear those thoughts away she continued with her list; '3. Find breakfast, 4. Ask for a bit of spending money, 5. Robe shop, 6. Muggle clothes shop, 7. Gringotts, 8. Ministry'. That was all she had for now but she figured that would take her until at least lunch time, at which point she would probably be tired and annoyed at all the people (she wasn't a people person and her over-heightened senses and reflexes would probably have reached a breaking point by then) and she didn't really feel like having to explain why a good proportion of the people in Diagon Alley, or even the ministry had been incapacitated by one 18 year old girl; it would probably get complicated. Then she remembered something the sorting hat had said and added one final item to her list, '9. Find Founder's Hall'. Satisfied, she headed to the bathroom.

It was still a huge shock when she looked in the mirror and saw a scar-free, young face looking back at her. She looked so much like her 14 year old self it was scary. Throughout the war she and the others had seemed to age at about the same rate – in other words, really quickly – and time had dragged on so she hadn't really noticed that she wasn't really supposed to look like she did. Still amazed by her new-found luck, she hopped in the shower and, true to her word, didn't come out for a hour. By the time she was finished getting ready for the day it was 6:30 and she was feeling rather peckish, anyone else would called that feeling 'starving', but she had a different scale to measure these things by. However, before she went to alleviate her hunger she paid a visit to Dumbledore's office.

She used her copy of the Marauders' Map to wait until he was right in front of his door and sent her modified stunner through the door (the modified part is that it can go through solid objects, with the Map it works brilliantly; without it...well, it was kinda pointless without the map) to knock him out before she went in. After she finished working on him, all Dumbledore remembered was an elaborate version of her cover story; her parents had worked for the Department of Mysteries (explains away their non-existence) and she had studied and worked with them until they died in a freak accident (again, Department of Mysteries so no questions asked, this also explained the voice when she arrived). According to the Ministry she hadn't really existed properly or formally completed her education so she was here to take her NEWTS and make a place for herself in the world.

As she was going through all of Dumbledore's Hermione-related memories she saw that he had told a bit of her story to Minerva, Horace, Filius and Pomona, and he had written it in his journal. _Damn, _she thought, _this is going to take longer than I thought. Blegh._ Once she finished with Dumbledore, she found his journal and modified his last entry. She was quite surprised (and a bit disappointed) to find that he had been planning to "keep a close eye on everything this strange girl does", that he would "prevent her from doing anything rash" and make sure she "allowed the adults handle the situation". It was hard for her to reconcile this version of Dumbledore with the one she had known in the future, maybe the first war affected him more than he let on? _Whatever, what's done is done. Now, for the professors. _Pretty soon, all their memories matched up and any evidence of her being from the future was cleared away.

It did amaze her how differently they had each reacted to the revelation that she was a time traveler; Horace wanted to know who had done what and how successful his Slug Club members were, Filius was fascinated by the fact that she had managed to come back so far and wanted to know if there had been any spell-work involved at all or if it was completely the universe's doing. He had been up half the night searching through various obscure reference books for any mention of extreme time travel. Pomona was worried that Hermione may become depressed and hoped that she would be able to fit into life this far in the past. But most interesting was Minerva, apparently, she had stayed after to talk a bit more with Albus about the implications of having someone who knew the future come back to purposefully try and change things. She had suggested meeting with Hermione at least once a day for the next few weeks to determine exactly what could be done to cause both the most damage to Voldemort and the least damage to future relationships, births, inventions, etc. She had been surprised when Dumbledore said that they should just make Hermione to tell him everything and then he could decide what to share with the Order and the rest of the world. Then, he and the other 'Leaders of the Light' could do what needed to be done and allow Hermione to have the childhood she was denied. Personally, Minerva had thought that it was too late for Hermione to have a childhood and that it would be important for her to be included in any plan-making. She also thought that Dumbledore was being a bit egotistical, thinking that he could make decisions like that, and that he really didn't have any right to 'make' Hermione tell him anything. But she didn't say any of this for fear of being left out of the situation all together. _I'll have to think about that...maybe I could bring Minerva in on this later._

It was 7:45 by the time she finally managed to get down to breakfast, when she arrived most of the professors were already there, because there was only a week until classes started they were all up early and running around try to tie up loose ends and finish off lesson plans. They all greeted her warmly, Dumbledore had just finished telling them all about her and her history (her version of course) and they were all very sympathetic. Slughorn was the exception, he kept trying to get her to talk about the unspeakable part of the Unspeakables; it was frustrating not only for her, but for the rest of the staff as well. However, she did manage to finish the meal without hexing anyone. Afterwards she approached Minerva.

"Professor McGonagall." Hermione called.

"Yes, Miss. Granger?"

"I was wondering if I could go to Diagon Alley today, I don't have anything much to wear and what Dumbledore provided, well..." Hermione trailed off, letting Minerva draw her own conclusions.

"Ah, yes. He does have a rather unique idea of what counts as clothing." She said with a small smile. "Would you like accompaniment? I know you are of age, over actually, but I thought I would ask anyways."

Hermione shook her head, "No, thank you. I can go by myself, and I'm sure you and all the other professors have plenty of better things to be working on. However, I do have a bit of a problem..."

Minerva held up her hand to stop Hermione from speaking anymore, and gave another small smile, "Don't worry Miss. Granger, I know all about your financial situation, if you will follow me to my office I will get you the official Hogwarts student vault permission form, all you have to do is present it to one of the tellers at Gringotts and they will give you 20 galleons. That should be plenty to be going on with. As a dependent of the school you will be allowed to withdraw from this account twice, once now and once more before Christmas. I know it's not a lot, but the school does provide books, uniforms and supplies. Buy yourself something nice, but not too nice."

"Thank you Professor." Hermione said with her best attempt at a pleasant expression (which was really just a blank face, without her ever-present frown or suspicious glare).

"You're more than welcome dear." They reached her office and Minerva handed Hermione an official-looking piece of parchment, "Here, just show this to one of the goblins in Gringotts and they will give you a secure bag to carry it around in. You can go ahead and apparate from just outside the gates."

"Okay, thank you very much." She then proceeded to step into an empty classroom and apparated from there. It had been a few months into the war when she found out it didn't require raw power, so much as coercion and good persuasion skills to apparate inside Hogwarts, you just needed to convince the ward to let you through. Four and a half years of 'Hogwarts: A History' had flown out the window when she discovered this.

As soon as she arrived outside the Leaky Cauldron, Hermione nearly cursed everyone in sight; there were so many people running around, bumping into her, talking loudly, dressed in brilliant colours and just being...so...loud and cheerful! Immediately she ducked into a corner and took a deep breath to calm herself, it wouldn't do for her to draw a ton of attention to herself, not to mention the fact that having a bunch of unconscious people lying around would be a less-than-ideal situation. Taking another breath to steady herself she started applying the most complex and undetectable glamour she could think of. She thought it best to not try and look innocuous but rather memorable, so no one would make the mistake of connecting any future transactions with Hermione. If she was the complete opposite then they wouldn't suspect a thing. Better to stand out now than to be recognized later. Anyway, if she looked odd people wouldn't question her buying or doing odd things. So, by the time she actually started walking down the alley she was nearly 180cm, had darker than dark skin, long straight black hair and piercing hazel eyes. She almost considered adding pointed ears, but figured it would be a bit much to pretend the elves were back, and the elves certainly wouldn't take kindly to her doing that, if they found out.

She stopped at Gringotts and picked up her 20 galleons and switched half of it into pounds, then she opened an account under the name 'Erlichia Invencio'. The goblins, being the intelligent beings they were, knew it was a fake name but after she assured them the account would be quite full by that afternoon they let her do it; of course, they said that if there wasn't more than a hundred galleons in it by tomorrow morning they would close it and never let anyone under that name create an account again. Hermione just glared and told them she never went back on her promises, her look was enough to shut the self-important goblin up.

Hermione's first stop was the brand new-looking Madam Malkin's, apparently it was a start-up business and didn't have that many customers yet. Hermione changed that. Because she didn't have that much money yet she had to settle for a simple, black, self-sizing cloak with a hood. Once she donned the robe she wandlessly charmed the hem to billow as she walked, she had always wondered how Severus managed that, turns out it was charm; quite handy really. Hermione was quite satisfied with the way people rushed to move out of her way as she left for muggle London, an extremely tall dark woman with a billowing robe was a bit intimidating. Once she was out of the Leaky Cauldron she removed some of the glamour, she was now her normal shape and size, but she left her skin, hair and eyes the same. After walking through store after store she was getting fed-up, the clothing was ridiculous, so she finally went into a outdoors shop and found some guy's cargo pants in roughly her size, a good pairs of jeans (that _didn't _ flare out at the bottom) and some nice sturdy, flexible boots; after all, she was a witch and could alter them to her heart's content later. Once she had picked up some nice _simple _shirts she headed to the ministry with her hood up and her height increased again.

As with Hogwarts, she said 'hello' to the Ministry wards and convinced them to let her apparate directly to the Spell Development section of the Department of Mysteries which nearly gave an unsuspecting Unspeakable a heart attack.

"Good afternoon." Hermione said in a low, silky voice. "I would like to speak with whomever is in charge."

The poor man just pointed to a door with a shaking finger.

"Thank you." Hermione walked over to the door and rapped smartly on it.

"Charles, you know you can just come in. I only keep that blasted door shut because of those stupid regulations." A muffled voice called.

"I would have to agree with you on the intelligence, or lack thereof, of whoever installed that regulation; it seems a bit counter intuitive." The door was flung open and a very flustered man appeared right in front of her, he had the whitest hair and the darkest skin imaginable, it gave him a bit of a crazy look - his wild eyes didn't nothing help counter that image.

"How the bloody hell did you get in here?" He sputtered.

"Well you see, there's this thing called apparation. It's when someone follows the thrice-dammed three D's and moves from one place to another, almost instantaneously."

"But...But...This is the _Department of Mysteries!_You can't just apparate in, we have wards no one even knows about!"

"Ah, yes, I thought you might say that. But, as you can tell, I just did." Hermione said, with not a hint of emotion in her voice.

"But..." He sighed, and looked over Charles who was still standing in the middle of the room looking like someone had just told him Merlin had pink, spiked hair and a blue dread-locked beard. Charles just raised his hands in a gesture of innocence and said.

"Don't ask me, I didn't do anything. She just appeared."

The man's shoulders slumped as he gave up trying to convince her that what she had just done was impossible. "Well, while you're here you might as well say what you wanted to. Or," His face turned hopeful, "You could explain how you got here, that's pretty cool and no one's ever done it before!"

"As much as I know you would love to have that information, I'm not willing to part with it. However, if I'm not mistaken, this is the Spell Development department, is it not?" Hermione asked.

"Ah, yes, it is." The the man's eyes lit up, "Oh! You have something, you must, it's gotta be interesting, it must be. I bet it's something completely new, am I right? Will you tell us? Do you need help? What can we do? Do want some tea?" The man's excitement was enough to break Charles out of his shock-induced stupor.

"Sorry about him, he gets a bit excited when it comes to new spells. That's one of the reasons they made him Department Head. But don't worry, he'll calm down in a bit." He smiled at her, "I'm Charles by the way, sorry about earlier, your entrance was pretty impressive."

"Nice to meet you Charles. I'm sorry to have shocked you but I'm not too fond of stairs or elevators, not to mention I didn't feel like walking through the ministry." She shook his hand. "And you can call me Erlichia Invencio."

"Erlichia Invencio, eh?" Asked the other man who had finally calmed down a bit. "I'm Ginger, no comments about the name please, I've heard them all. I'm a crazy black man with white hair named Ginger, I blame those idiots who work in the Time Room who can't control their experiments. Anyway, nice name and I _love _the glamour, I haven't seen one that good well, ever. Hold on, 'Erlichia'? As in, 'Erlich' or 'early' and 'Invencio' as in 'invention'? Oh, I like it! And the cloak, ooo, you are interesting!"

Hermione was miffed, he could see through the glamour! "Well, I have to say, I expected the name to be figured out but the glamour, I was pretty sure no one could see through it."

"Oh, don't worry." Ginger said, "I can't see through it, I just know it's there. Now, to business! What have you got for me?" He led her into his office (purposefully _not_ closing the door, apparently he really didn't like the regulations) and they sat down at his desk.

"Well," Hermione said, reaching into her purse and grabbing her Inventions notebook, "I am what you might call a bit of an entrepreneur, but I haven't really been interested in sharing my discoveries. However, I have recently found myself in need of funds."

"Ah, I see." Ginger said, but with a frown. "But why don't you just patent and register them yourself? If you go through us you don't get credit for them and the Department of Mysteries gets the profits."

"Yes, that is true. However, I would like to sell them to you and then you can do what you like. My reasoning for this is that for any spell registered through the ministry, they get a cut of the profits. I am not too fond of the ministry. By going through you, I know that the money will be used for research, not for lining the pockets of corrupt bureaucrats. There is also the added benefit of a close personal relationship with those who hold the future of magic in their hands, and I know you're underfunded. Anyway, I don't really want to advertise my existence to the world."

"Well, you certainly seem to understand the inner workings of the ministry very well." Ginger said, clearly impressed. "Not many people realize that the Department of Mysteries operates independently from the Ministry except for our budget, which they keep on a tight leash."

"So, what is your answer?" Hermione asked, she knew that if she stayed here much longer they would probably start talking about the inadequacies of the ministry and then she wouldn't leave for hours; she had a lot to say on the matter.

"Well, I think it's great, but we don't have enough extra money floating around to buy even the simplest of spells. I mean, people seem to think that Spell Development is a department that shouldn't need much money because we just wave our wands around and make things happen. They never seem to understand that we have this thing called research we have to do or that we have a tendency to blow up dummies and/or various test subjects." Ginger said with a disappointed expression on his face. "I would love to but I don't think we can."

Hermione raised an eyebrow, she hadn't been expecting this, but before she was able to find a way around this problem there was an explosion that rocked the entire room and a patronus messenger flew threw the wall.

"ALL HANDS ON DECK!" It screamed in a high-pitched female voice. "EXPERIMENTAL POTIONS ACCIDENT!"

Ginger and Charles immediately pulled on dragon hide boots and gloves and rushed from the room, not sparing Hermione a second glance. _That's interesting_. She thought as she followed out the door, it's not like they told her not to follow them... What she found was quite impressive, there was a tiny gold cauldron in the middle of a big room filled with hundreds of others, the cauldron was currently spewing what seemed to be molten lava in copious quantities, much more than it should have been able to. There was maybe twenty unspeakables running around it trying (and failing) to put up a shield to keep it from ruining the entire room. Hermione cast a time bubble over the mess, carefully keeping the people on the outside. They spun around to see who cast the foreign spell, and all eyes stopped on the imposing figure of Hermione (as Erlichia).

Ginger stepped forward hesitantly, "Um, guys, this is Erlichia, she um...arrived...this morning."

"That's all well and good, I don't really care where she came from just that she managed to do whatever she did over here." A short, dark-haired lady said.

"Yeah, what exactly _did_ you do over here?" Another voice asked.

"Oh, I froze everything in there. I'd say you have about 20 minutes before time catches up with it again. I suggest you use that time to figure out how to fix it." Everyone just started at her. "Well," she said impatiently, "Go!" People sprung back into action, some started pouring over piles of notes and others started pouring memories into a pensive to try and figure out exactly what went wrong. Hermione conjured a muggle-style recliner and sat back to watch. After about five minutes Charles and a couple others came over, it was pretty obvious he was the designated speaker, this was confirmed when the others stopped about four metres away and only he continued to approach her.

"Hi, um...Erlichia, we were wondering if it was possible to get a bit of that stuff out of your, um, thingy." He said hesitantly.

"Of course, I was wondering when someone would ask!" She jumped up and hurried over to the time bubble. "So, how much would like?"

"Um, as small an amount as possible please." An older lady requested.

Hermione pulled her wand out and waved it in very tiny, very precise, figure eights. A minuscule drop of the potion raised itself out of the cauldron and flew to the edge of the bubble. She summoned a tiny silver cauldron from a nearby table and carefully placed the droplet in it. However, as soon as she had summoned the silver cauldron there was a uproar.

"No! Don't put it in the silver one! It will ruin it!"

Hermione just rolled her eyes and asked, "Does this potion contain Dragon Tears?" The room went silent, most people didn't even know dragons _had_ tears, let alone recognize that a potion might use them.

"How do you know that?" A suspicious man asked. "Only three of us in this room know that there are dragon tears in it."

"Well, two things; first, it looks like you are experimenting with forms of artificial lava or magma which would require either dragon tears or tears from a magical animagus, which hasn't been seen or heard of, ever. Second, when any potion with dragon tears in it is put in a gold cauldron it becomes self-replicating, one of the properties of the tears that make them so valuable." By the looks of astonishment on everyone's faces she came to the conclusion that none of them knew about the self-replicating thing.

"Oh." Said the man. "So to fix this all we need to do is remove it all from the cauldron?"

"I don't know." Hermione said, "But it would probably be a good start. I can take the Time Bubble down now if you would like to give it a try."

Many eyes went wide as the implications of 'Time Bubble' settled in their minds, but they left it for the time being. So Hermione took the bubble down and they all worked together to get every drop of potion out of the cauldron - as predicted, it worked. While the unspeakables worked on cleaning up the mess and putting the room back to rights, Hermione lounged on her chair in the corner. It didn't take long for one of the ladies from the Time Room to come up and ask her about the bubble.

"So, Erlichia, you mentioned something about a 'Time Bubble'?"

"So I did, it's one of my many inventions. In fact, that was one of the reasons I was down here in the first place, I want to sell some of my spells."

The woman's eyebrows raised themselves halfway up her forehead. "You do know that we're not really supposed to buy spells, to do that you would need -" Hermione cut her off.

"Yes, yes, I know. Let's just wait until we can get everyone together shall we?" With that, she conjured another recliner and gestured for the lady to sit.

"Oh, by the way, I'm Jasmine, I'm in charge of the Time Room." The lady introduced herself before she sat down. Pretty soon the room was put back to rights and people had started to congregate around where the two ladies were sitting.

"Ah, I see you're all finished." Hermione said cheerfully, "Shall we have a bit of a chat?"

Four hours, two meals, three spells and 500 galleons later Hermione apparated back to Hogwarts. Apparently with her vast array of knowledge and diverse skill base the entire Department of Mysteries was eager to help her and receive her advice and expertise in exchange. Each division had donated 50 to 100 galleons (some was even from people's own pockets) and three promises; a portion of the profits (even though they didn't have to), free use of their facilities and complete secrecy. The secrecy part was easy because to their continued astonishment, 'Erlichia' was able to apparate directly into and out of any department without alerting anyone.

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><p>By the time she had eaten and put everything back in her dorm it was dark out, but she still wanted to find the hall that the Sorting Hat had told her about, so she pulled out Harry's invisibility cloak and the map and left for the astronomy tower. On the way she overheard Slughohrn complaining to Minerva about 'those boys'.<p>

"Minerva, I don't know if I can stand another year with those boys disrupting my class. They are a distraction to the other students."

"Now, Horace, I know James and Sirius can be a little over-enthusiastic but they really aren't that bad, just remember this is their last year." Minerva said in a placating voice. "I just wish it was those Marauders that were leaving, they are real troublemakers."

"Don't even mention those hooligans." Slughorn nearly shouted, "I can't believe that haven't been caught yet, they should be thrown out of the school, they are a menace."

"Yes, well, by my estimation they should only have one year left after this one. Maybe then we'll have some peace." Minerva said with a small smile.

Hermione choked, they didn't know? How was that even possible? This would require much thought, but for now she had a secret hall to find!

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><p>Well, that's all for now. On a side note: I see that a lot of you are putting my story on alert andor making it a favourite but not reviewing. I'm glad that you want to continue reading it but it would be nice to hear what you think...Thanks!


	8. Founder's Hall

**Preventing the Future**

**Chapter Eight - Founder's Hall**

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><p><strong>Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter. Fin.<strong>

**Author's note: I'm not completely satisfied with this chapter so I will probably be re-posting it sometime but I figured you would rather have the next part of the story. Enjoy!**

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><p>Hermione stood at the top of the Astronomy Tower, the tallest tower in the castle, and gazed at the stars. It was something she could never get enough of these days; in the future the stars had faded until they were barely recognizable and there was so much smoke in the air you couldn't see them even if they were there. Now, she could see everything. Finally, the chill of the fall air sank into her clothes and she turned to the wall next to the door. She took a deep breath and did as the Sorting Hat had recommended; she gently placed her hand on the cold stone. As she held her hand there, the stone melted into a door.<p>

It was made of a dark cedar wood and looked as old as the castle itself; it had a faded, wrought iron design on it. Hermione muttered a spell and with a wave of her hand, hundreds of years of dirt and moss were cleared away revealing a simple door. The design was that of the Hogwarts crest - it had been inlaid so long ago that it had seeped into the wood itself. She reached for the handle and had almost touched it when it swung open of it's own accord.

She stepped through the doorway and found herself at the top of a very small spiral staircase that looked to have been squashed in right next to the normal one. Right before the door closed behind her with a resounding thud, a few torches lit themselves. The torches here seemed older than the ones in the rest of the castle; they were in simple yet elegant brackets, each of which had a different engraving on it. Hermione walked down the stairs very slowly so as not to miss her footing but also so she could look at each torch. The first one had an engraving of a lion with an eagle riding on it's back, the second had a snake curled up next to a book with a badger. These went on and on, sometimes the engraving was of one of the houses' mascots and sometimes it was of two or three. It was great to see them all working together doing various school tasks or learning different things. Suddenly, the stairs turned into a small corridor. This surprised Hermione because by her estimation she was only about three quarters of the way down the tower, none-the-less she followed it. It would go straight for a while then it would start twisting and turning only to become a staircase again, sometimes going up and sometimes going down. She followed this strange pathway for about 20 minutes before it finally came to a stop in front of another ancient-looking door.

As she approached the door it swung open and she stepped into the most spectacular room she had ever seen; it was almost as big as the Great Hall. The ceiling was the same as the one in the Great Hall, it looked exactly like the night sky she had been observing earlier, there were even the tiny puffs of cloud hovering over a small crescent moon. And the floor, the floor was a tight weave of carpet, a deep midnight blue, almost black in colour and covered with a pattern of clouds and stars. It seemed to be a toned-down, fabric reflection of the night sky. Scattered around the room were small sitting areas, study tables and couches. Three of the four walls were lined with bookcases that were two stories tall and many rows deep, creating long corridors that seemed to stretch for miles; there must have been hundreds of thousands of books. One side of the room had dozens of small shelves and cases filled with Merlin only knows what, another with long work benches, there even seemed to be a duelling platform. Directly across from where she had entered there was a massive fireplace and placed in the corner to it's right was a huge ornate desk, beautiful but serviceable. Despite the fact that everything was covered in layers upon layers of dust, it was a magical scholar's dream come true.

A small stand with a massive, closed book on it was placed just beyond the door. Hermione walked slowly forward, still in awe of the room. On top of the book there was an ancient piece of folded parchment. On the front it simply said '_Welcome'._ Brushing the dust off, she turned it over and found that it had never been opened, it was still firmly shut with the seal of Hogwarts stamped on the back in wax. Carefully, she unfolded and read it.

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><p><em>Welcome, heir of Hogwarts, to the Founder's Hall, the heart of this school.<em>

_This hall was created as the centre of learning, it is here for all those with an open mind and a will to learn. Over the years, hundreds of students and graduates have used this hall as a place for quite study, for academic entertainment, and of course as a place to further their knowledge. However, what is found in here is not for the weak of mind, for as with power, knowledge can easily corrupt. Without proper supervision we are worried that what is held within these walls will be used in a manner not befitting a true Hogwarts student. Originally we intended to have an official guardian for this hall as we each have our own duties to attend to, and in the years we have taught here we have searched for one deserving of that power but it has been a fruitless hunt. Therefore, this hall has been sealed to keep its secrets safe, we made this decision many years ago and do so now, as our days come to an end. It will only be found and opened again when a Heir of Hogwarts is deemed worthy of the responsibility._

_A true Heir of Hogwarts embodies the traits valued by all four founder's of this school. From Hufflepuff you must bring loyalty, hard work and determination. From Ravenclaw you must bring wisdom, creativity, and individuality. From Gryffindor you must bring bravery, courage and selflessness. And from Slytherin you must bring cunning, ambition and raw power._

_If you are reading this then you are the Heir of Hogwarts and have now become the Hall's new guardian. You are responsible for this hall and those who use it until another comes along or until you tire, at which point you must once again hide it from the world. Only those who know where the Hall is will be able to get to it, please remember this and please use what you find wisely._

_Rowena Ravenclaw_

Helga Hufflepuff

_**Godric Gryffindor**_

_**Salazar Slytherin**_

P.S. To clarify some things that Rowena may have worded a bit too eloquently, you are the embodiment of all that Hogwarts is meant to be, we are trusting you with secrets known only to us, and 'until you tire' basically means you can live for as long as you are willing to protect this hall. ~ H.H.

_**P.P.S They also forgot to tell you that you now have access to all our primary vaults, just go to Gringotts and show them all our signet rings, they will take you to vaults one through four. Also, the Hogwarts ring will let you in vault 9, the Hogwarts vault. You can't have the gold because that's for the school but there might be some interesting stuff in there, we don't know. ~ G.G.**_

_**P.P.P.S I feel it is my duty to warn you, if you abuse this privilege the consequences would be ... unpleasant. ~ S.S.**_

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><p>The Founder's Hall? She had never heard anything about it, not even in myths or legends. But here it was, a massive hall, in what seemed to be the middle of the school. It was amazing! And she, Hermione Granger, a muggle-born, was the Heir of Hogwarts. That really was something. <em>Woah, hold on.<em> Her mind screamed at her as she looked over the letter again, this time paying close attention to the postscript, "...can live for as long as you are willing to protect this hall." _Holy Shit! I can live forever! _It was taking her mind a very long time to process this; she just inherited a hall filled with knowledge, artifacts and secrets, and had all the time in the world? It was mind blowing. Then there was the fact that once she found the rings she would have access to some of the oldest vaults in the wizarding world, which hadn't been opened in hundreds of years, they would no doubt be full of even more amazing things, not to mention a little money.. _At least I don't have to worry about a job now... _She decided to think more about that later.

Hermione folded the parchment and tucked it inside her robes - the last thing she wanted to do was lose it - before starting to walk around the room. She completely forgot about the book under the letter, instead she started to explore the hall, immediately she found herself drawn to the nearest row of bookcases. Wandering down the aisle, Hermione was in awe of the sheer number of books, hundreds upon hundreds of long-lost books! Finally she stopped and pulled one off the shelf at random, then kept walking, every now and then she would grab another book before continuing on, not even bothering to read the titles, every one of them was bound to be fascinating. When her arms were full - she was carrying twelve books - she navigated back through the many shelves _Gosh, there must be almost as many books here as the library!_She thought when she finally got back into the main hall. There were many different potential places to curl up and read, which was all she really wanted to do right now, but she finally decided on what looked to be an extremely comfy couch in front of the massive fireplace. She dumped her pile of books on a small, conveniently located table by the couch and walked up to the fireplace. She found that there was a huge pile of wood set off to the side and placed a few in the fireplace. Soon, with the help of a little handy magic, she had a roaring fire in front of which to read her books and relax in peace, with no inquisitive professors.

As she sat down it did not escape her notice that while she had chosen a Gryffindor-coloured couch, there was a subtle design of a lion, snake, eagle and badger woven into the fabric in the colours of their respective houses. It was hardly noticeable but she loved it nonetheless. Hermione was overjoyed when she felt the very beginnings of the hint of a smile touch her lips, this hall really symbolized the whole of the school working and learning together. Laying down on the amazingly comfortable couch she began reading _'Tales of the Phoenix'_. She didn't even notice when the book slid to the floor as she fell asleep.

Hermione woke to the feeling of ice water being poured down her shoulder, rubbing the sleep out of her eyes she swatted at whatever it was that was bothering her.

"What?" She grumbled, "It's Saturday, I don't have anything I have to do today."

"You is needing to be up now miss." A very old, squeaky voice said.

Hermione sat up so fast she fell off the couch, her only saving grace was that she landed in a crouch with her wand in her hand. Otherwise, it would have been completely embarrassing.

The sight that greeted her was definitely _not_ what she had been expecting; there, right in her face, was the ghost of a house elf, and it did not look happy. The funny thing (overlooking the fact that it was a ghost) about it was that it wasn't wearing the Hogwarts uniform of a simple tea towel with the crest but rather a deep blue tunic with bronze trim and black leggings. However, the entire uniform looked to be made out of a table cloth or maybe high-quality sheets; it was clothing but not clothing, quite inventive really.

"What is taking you so long?" The ghost asked angrily. "Are yous having any ideas as to how long I's been waiting?"

Hermione blinked.

"Well? What is being your excuse? Yous is many years late!"

"I..um...I...technically speaking, I'm actually early." She sputtered.

"Well, I's be thanking Merlin yous here. I's being dead for a very long time. And being dead is not as fun as Miss might be thinking."

"Oh. Well, um. Who are you?" Hermione asked.

The elf puffed out his chest, "I is Keeper, Keeper of the Secrets. I used to be Mistress Rowena's elf but before she was dying she and the other kind Masters is making me Keeper."

"I see, and what secrets might you be keeping?"

"The Founder's Hall, of course. Miss is not being very smart if she is not knowing that." Keeper said as haughtily as a house elf could.

"Hey!" Hermione said indignantly, insults to her intelligence were some of the few things in life which actually annoyed her, plenty of things pissed her off or infuriated her but she didn't find many things annoying. "I was just wondering what sort of secrets those might be, that's all."

"Ah, I is happy you is asking that!" Keeper said cheerfully, "As soon as I is passing on my secrets I is finally being able to leave this hall and be moving to the other side. I is being wanting to do that since I is dying."

"Oh, well maybe we can get this done quickly then."

"I would be liking that very much Miss."

"So, where would you like to start?" Hermione asked, she was very interested in finding out as much about this hall as she could, the sooner the better.

"First, this room is needing cleaning." With that, Keeper just popped away, apparently even when dead, elves could do their form of apparation. About twenty seconds later a group of nine house elves popped into the hall, four male and five female. At first they were wearing the traditional Hogwarts tea towels but as soon as they appeared, eight of their outfits changed to match the ghost's, just in different colours; navy blue and bronze, maroon and gold, yellow and black and emerald and silver; each of the tunics had a very faint embroidered pattern of a raven, lion, badger and snake on them. One female and one male in each set of the colours. Under all their tunics they wore the black leggings. Despite the colour differences, they all seemed to fit together. The fifth female elf however, was a bit older and had a white tunic with black embroidery. The elves all turned their eyes down at their outfits and looked up at Keeper in fright, the ghost, sensing that they were worried about their new uniform put them at ease.

"Elvises, elvises, no panicking. You is not being freed, you is just wearing fitted table cloths made by other elvises, they is not clothes. You is now working in the great and wonderful Founder's Hall so you is needing to look smart. This is what the Founders is wanting you be wearing." Now that the elves were sure that nothing was wrong they set about inspecting their new uniforms, they were all very happy about it.

The female elf in white looked up at Keeper and asked, "Why is I be wearing white?"

Keeper floated over to the elf and said, "You is being given great honour by Hogwarts herself. She is choosing the best elf to be head elf. You is in charge of the Hall, you is now called Chief!"

The elf's eyes went impossibly large. "But Keeper, a Chief is always being male! I is girl, I is not being able to be chief."

Keeper floated down so he could look straight into her eyes, "Hogwarts has chosen, you is not able to change her mind."

The elf wrung her hands together. "Okay, I is being chief, but I is hoping for different name. Chief is not being a girl elf name."

Keeper smiled and turned to Hermione who had just been standing there in shock at the nine elves. "We is asking Miss here to choose yous a new name."

Hermione blinked. "You want _me _to pick a name? I still don't even like the idea of house elf enslavement in the first place!" All the elves looked at her in horror.

Keeper flew up so he was right in front of her face. "You is being wrong to thinking that. We is liking our work, we is wanting no more than serving nice masters and mistresses. You is bad heir to be thinking of us like slaves." He shook a finger in her face. "You is needing to change yous mind!"

"Oh." Hermione said, she had never seen an elf speak so vehemently about their position in life before. All the elves she had met seemed to say things like that because they were expected to, not because they wanted to. Maybe it was time to re-think her position on house elves. "I guess I could try."

"Well you is better be trying now because Chief is needing new name." Keeper said, still rather angry.

"Okay," Hermione desperately tried to think of a name that would be accepted by them. "How about 'Matri'?"

"What is 'Matri' meaning?" The elf who _wasn't_ Chief asked.

"It is an abbreviated form of 'matriarch', which means female leader." Hermione answered. "I thought that even though 'matriarch' is a very formal and powerful person or position, by shortening it to 'Matri' it would be okay with you."

"Oh." The elf said hesitantly, "I is nowhere close to being a matriarch."

"I know, that's why I suggested 'Matri', it's that or 'Matron' and I didn't think you'd like that very much."

The elf gasped, "No no no, Matri is fine. I is liking Matri."

"Okay." Keeper said cheerfully, "Now that that is being decided we is needing to be cleaning. Matri, you is in charge, you is deciding what happens when. You is starting now." With that, the elves hurried away and Matri started handing out instructions. Keeper turned to Hermione. "I is hoping you is treating elvises nice and not doing everything by yous self."

"Okay, I'll try. It will probably be easier with Matri around to keep things going and stop me from doing anything."

"Yes, you is right. Now, we is needing to do explaining of Hall." The elf changed into what could most accurately be described as 'teacher' mode.

"Right, yes, explaining."

Keeper floated quickly over to the desk in the corner of the room, "This is the Heir's desk, only you is being able to use it, it be very safe."

The desk was beautiful, it was made of a deep mahogany wood, it was fancy without being gaudy and spacious without being imposing. It was a wraparound desk so there was even more room to spread out papers and books when doing research, there were plenty of drawers and bookcases all along the walls behind it. The chair was just screaming, 'Sit in me for hours!' But what caught (and held) Hermione's attention were the four bulky envelopes sitting on the desk each addressed to 'My Heir'. When she opened the first one she found inside a short letter and an ornate ring with two Gs and a Lion design on it, it was Godric Gryffindor's ring. She was about to start reading the letter when Keeper interrupted impatiently.

"Miss, you can be reading the letters later, just put the rings on and we is being able to continue."

Hermione was disappointed that she couldn't read what the founders had written but understood that Keeper really want to move on from this life – or lack thereof. So, she just opened each of the letters and place the rings on the desk in front of her.

"Um, Keeper?" She asked, "Do I really have to wear all of these? They seem really...well, big."

Keeper glared at her. "Of course you is having to wear them, you is the _heir_. But if you is not liking to have them so big, yous is able to make them look different. Yous is also being able to make them into one."

"Oh, and how do I do that?" Hermione asked.

Keeper looked at her like she was an idiot. "Magic." He said simply.

Hermione rolled her eyes and placed the Gryffindor ring on her right ring finger, she focused on it and asked it to become smaller. Much to her surprise it turned into a thin gold band with a thin red line running down the middle; in the centre, where the two Gs and ornate lion used to be, there was now a simple engraving of a lion. She was satisfied, this was much nicer, and didn't draw attention to itself, no one would guess that this small piece of rather feminine jewelry was the official signet ring of Godric Gryffindor. Remembering what Keeper said about the rings being able to go into one, she slid the Ravenclaw one on over it, as they touched a thin blue line intertwined itself with the red one and a simple raven appeared next to the lion. After she added the Hufflepuff and Slytherin rings, the band had turned silver and there were four spiralling ribbons of colour joined in the centre by a lion, raven, badger and snake engravings. It was beautiful.

"There, you is seeing how nice they is now." Keeper said proudly, "They is looking nice on Miss' hand. But enough of that, we is having more to see."

"Right, yes." Hermione said, still in a bit of a daze from the whole ring thing. "What's next?"

"The index is being next." Keeper said as he floated back to the book stand on which she had found the letter the night before. "This is the index book, it be telling you what books is here, in the library or in Masters and Mistresses own libraries." Hermione's eyes widened.

"The Founder's have personal libraries?" She asked breathlessly. "As in, with their _own _books?"

Keeper looked a bit surprised at her reaction. "Yes, of course they is. They is in their rooms Miss."

It was only Hermione's strong disposition that kept her from fainting then and there, she could go to the Founders' rooms!

"Miss, could we be keeping going please?" Keeper asked with a roll of his eyes.

Hermione shook her head and blinked about a hundred times to bring her back to the present. "Yes, of course."

"Good. Like I is saying, this is being the index book. All yous need to do is touch it with yous wand, or yous hand if yous is being able to doing magic with no wand and think or say what yous be looking for." Before Hermione had a chance to ask questions or get too excited Keeper moved on. "Now, there is a few ways to be getting in the hall, there is the 'fun' one from the astronomy tower – that was Salazar's idea, I is having no idea why but he is insisting that be the way you come in the first time, completely deranged that one." Hermione frowned, she had never heard Slytherin called deranged before; evil, bigoted, maniacal even insane, but never deranged. However, she didn't get time to voice her thoughts because Keeper had already moved on.

"Another way is being the spiral tapestry," He floated over to where, in the Great Hall, the Headmaster's chair would be at the head table. On the wall was a beautiful tapestry of a spiral staircase as looked at from above. Keeper pushed the tapestry to the side and revealed the top of a tiny spiral staircase, funny that. "This is leading to the Great Hall, it is being behind the Headmaster's chair. A one-way window makes you able to see the peoples but they not see yous."

_Well, that could be interesting._Hermione thought, spying on the professors during meals...very informative.

"Lastly, the bestest way to be getting to the hall is through the Founder's Door, it also be taking you everywhere yous be needing to go. It is right next to the astronomy door."

Hermione looked over to where Keeper was pointing and noticed the door for the first time, she was about to ask him what he meant by 'everywhere yous be needing to go' when he gave a high pitched laugh and said, "I can go!" And he vanished into thin air.

Hermione sighed. _Oh well, I guess it's better than no information. _Then she walked over to the door to figure out exactly what he meant.

However, as soon as she reached the door she noticed that there was no handle. There was just a door, it was simple yet elegant, covered with intertwining engravings, upon closer inspection she found that there was a pattern. There were distinctive symbols when were connected by a vine design. The symbols were very specific and didn't seem to have any single theme, in fact, the person who made the door seemed to have a good sense of humour as some of the carvings were quite amusing.

She looked at all the engravings and felt her hand drawn to one, it was of a roaring lion, and as if by instinct she gently pressed her hand to it. As her skin made contact with the wood, the lion grew until it filled the entire door, then a handle appeared and glowed gold. She carefully opened the door and nearly had a heart attack; she had just opened a door to the Gryffindor common room! It was as if she was standing right next to the wall, she felt like she was in the room. It took her a few moments to realize that the little elf who was cleaning in there wasn't paying any attention to the gaping doorway thing which had just appeared in the wall, she figured that it must be invisible, or at least unnoticeable. Waiting until the elf had left, she stepped through the door and closed it behind her. She turned around and saw that where she had just walked through there was nothing more than a beautiful tapestry. When she stepped closer to the tapestry it turned back into a door. _Interesting, it must have some sort of notice-me-not charm on it, or the area around it._ To test her theory she tossed a pillow from the nearest chair towards the tapestry, less than half a metre before it would have hit the wall, it disappeared. _Well, at least I won't have to explain why there is a new door in the common room. And if I stand close enough people won't be able to see me either! Oh, the possibilities..._

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><p>Reviews are always nice...especially ones like the one by vienne la nuit; thank you!<em><br>_


	9. Founder's Door

**Preventing the Future**

**Chapter Nine – Founder's Door**

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><p>Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter. Full stop. End of story. Please don't sue.<p>

Author's Note: I'm so sorry this took so long to finish. Enjoy!

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><p>Hermione looked at her watch to see what time it was and saw that it was already ten in the morning, her little foray with the elves in the Founder's Hall had taken longer than she thought. She decided that if she didn't show up for breakfast soon it would look suspicious so she headed down to the Great Hall to brave the teachers. Because it was still summer there was only one table in the hall and most of the professors were already seated and eating. All throughout the meal Hermione automatically answered any questions directed at her all the while thinking about the wonderful room that was right above them, it was amazing! And she was the first person in hundreds of years to even know about it... She ate quickly and excused herself with the excuse that she wanted to make sure she was caught up on her school work.<p>

As soon as Hermione made it back to the Gryffindor common room she grabbed a notebook and quill and walked over to where she knew the Founder's Door was. As soon as she touched the small symbol of a lion on the wall, she saw The Door appear. It looked exactly the same as the one in the Founder's Hall only now, in the very middle of The Door, surrounded by all the other engravings, was the Hogwarts crest. _Must lead back to the Hall. _She thought, and when she opened it Hermione found that sure enough, she was standing in the Founder's Hall. As tempted as she was to explore the Hall further, Hermione decided that she wanted to figure out exactly where The Door went. Hermione opened her note book to the first page and wrote:

_Founder's Door_  
><em>Lion: Gryffindor common room<em>

Then she stepped back and looked at all the other engravings on the wooden door, there must have been about twenty of them. Each carving flowed gracefully into the next, connected by twisting vines and curling lines. As you looked closer each carving seemed to be alive, the pile of books would sway precariously, the flowers would slowly open and close, steam rose in tiny spirals over food, the snake would flick it's tongue, the raven would ruffle a feather, the badger would twitch it's nose, the lion would shake it's mane, the gargoyles would smirk knowingly. When looked at all together nothing seemed to move but if you focused on just one you could see it moving.

With an excited sigh – if there is such a thing – Hermione pressed her hand against the engraving of the small serpent. She watched as the wood twisted and turned until the snake filled the entire door, just like the lion had done earlier, it's tongue was curling around the handle. Hermione noticed with a shudder that it was a basilisk, even after all she'd been through, that snake still scared her. It might have had something to do with the whole petrification thing, but who knows? Shoving that feeling to the back of her mind, she gently grasped the handle and pulled The Door open. Hermione did a mental fist pump as she found herself looking at a completely empty Slytherin common room - she recognised it from Harry and Ron's descriptions during their Polyjuice adventure. After making _absolutely_ sure that there was no one there – thank you, Marauder's Map – she carefully stepped into the snakes' den. It was amazing: If this and the lion carving were any indication, she had access to _any_ of the common rooms! Hermione quickly closed The Door behind her and pressed the snake symbol on the wall. Sure enough, The Door appeared again, complete with all the options. Hermione pressed the raven ruffling it's wings and found herself in the Ravenclaw common room and the same happened with the badger whose nose and tail twitched. Thousands of thoughts flew around her head, the first and foremost being, _This would have been so very useful during the war._But now was not the time to reminisce about the future, to get those thoughts out of her head she opened her notebook and added;

_Snake: Slytherin common room_  
><em>Raven: Ravenclaw common room<em>  
><em>Badger: Hufflepuff common room<em>

Hermione stood in the Hufflepuff common room and studied The Door, which carving to pick next? There were so many choices! One of the ones near the centre was an interesting combination of a hat, sword, wand, book, set of scales, diary and quill; the hat's brim kept twitching, the sword glittered, the wand shot out sparks randomly, the book's pages were turning, the scales slowly rocked from side to side and the quill was carefully writing in the diary; there was so much going on in the carving that it should have been almost nauseating to watch it, but somehow they all fit together and looked good. Hermione couldn't figure out how that worked.

_Magic. _The sarcastic part of her mind commented.

_Not shit, Sherlock! _Another part replied.

_Lovely, I'm talking to myself again. You know that's the first sign of insanity._

_Yeah,_ The sarcastic part said, _And the second sign is answering yourself. From what I can tell, you're doing both... _Hermione sighed and shook her head, she had know for a while now that she was insane, she didn't need herself to tell her that. So, she just accepted that the voice in her head was right and went back to looking at the carving that fit but didn't at the same time. She touched it and it grew to fill The Door. Hermione nearly had a heart attack when she saw what was on the other side of The Door, as it was, it was only her years of training that kept her from crying out in shock. She was standing _right behind_Dumbledore, he was sitting at his desk working on something and sucking a lemon drop. Hermione instantly stepped back and just about slammed The Door shut.

_Holy mother of Merlin's non-existent goatee! I can spy on the headmaster! There's no way he can make plans with out me knowing now!_

Hermione leaned back against The Door and didn't realise that she had touched a symbol until she felt a doorknob digging into her back. She whipped around and examined The Door; there was what looked to be a collection of couches and chairs arranged in a common room style but they didn't really fit together. There was a fire off to the side whose flames grew and flickered every now and then. It was a rather odd carving if Hermione did say so herself. Shrugging, she opened The Door and found herself staring into the Teachers' Lounge, complete with teachers. _Damn, I can spy on the teachers and their meetings too!_ Hermione decided that she _really _liked this door. Making sure that she stayed as close to The Door as possible so as not to alert the teachers to her presence, she let the carvings move back into place. She pressed the Hogwarts Crest in the middle and went back into the Founder's Hall to write down her latest findings.

_Pile of random stuff: Dumbledore's Office_  
><em>Eclectic furniture: Teacher's Lounge<em>

She spent the next few hours just pressing carvings and seeing where they went, she started with ones she thought she could guess, writing down where they each went. Each of the carvings was animated in some small way and Hermione was fascinated as to how that worked; yet another thing to look into.

_Haphazard pile of books: Library_  
><em>Grand staircase: Entrance Hall<em>  
><em>Toppling pile of food: Kitchens<em>  
><em>Pots and plants: Greenhouse (#3)<em>  
><em>Weird question mark: Room of Requirement (across the hall)<em>  
><em>Snitch, bludger and quaffel: Quidditch pitch (under stands)<em>  
><em>Telescope: Astronomy tower (2<em>_nd_ _entrance)_  
><em>Trophy: Trophy room (across the hall)<em>

Then came the ones Hermione had no idea what were. The first one she tried was a carving of a slightly chubby man sitting on what looked to be a keg; he appeared to be rocking back and forth singing, every few seconds he took a long drink from a tankard he was holding. She opened The Door and found herself in a massive, fully-stocked cellar, there were rows upon rows of kegs, barrels, jugs and bottles. She walked down one of the aisles of kegs, they were all Butterbeer, _old_ Butterbeer; the oldest keg she found was at the very end of the row, on the very bottom shelf was labeled 'Hogdenes Buterebeor 967'. There were also many kegs of other beers and ales, everything in the cellar was dated between 940 and 1200AD, she guessed that this was the time during which the Founders were around and the Hall open. _Man, the Founders were old when they kicked the bucket!_ An extremely old looking small keg had a wooden tag identifying it 'Freorig Ealu 952' Now, Hermione didn't exactly speak Old English but she could tell you that whatever it was, it was bound to be _extremely_ alcoholic by now. Because these drinks were created and preserved with magic, they wouldn't have gone off or sour but short of putting it in some sort of time lock, nothing could keep the potency from increasing. However, the back shelf had the most potential by far; it was all fancy bottles and they looked to be hard liquor. They might be firewhisky or they might be some forgotten drink but they were sure to be interesting. Hermione was glad that wizards were far ahead of their Muggle counterparts when it came to alcohol, otherwise this would probably be a bunch of weak crap. In the Muggle world, the ninth and tenth centuries weren't known for their drinks or thier food. Hermione found two really cool shelves of bottles, one shelf held bright white spiral bottles called 'Lyft Flogoda 1101' and another bright red convoluted ones labeled 'Meduraedan Ligdraca Apyffan 941', Finally curious enough to figure out what these drinks were, Hermione cast a simple translation spell; the first one was easy enough, Butterbeer – a direct translation too, nice and easy; the second, 'Freorig Ealu' was basically 'frozen ale', sounded interesting and the third, 'Lyft Flogoda' was 'Sky Liquor'. But the last one was a bit more difficult, it could either translate to 'Vomit of a tooth affliction' or 'Strong drink of a fire dragon's breath', Hermione was inclined to believe it was the latter of the two but this being Hogwarts, you never knew. Either way, it was going to be extremely interesting to find out; because Hermione definitely planned on finding out. Anyway, it's not like she would be finishing anything and depriving the rest of the wizarding world of historic drinks, the minimum number of a particular set of bottles was eight, and that was of the 941 Meduraedan. She spent another half hour just wandering through the cellar thinking up inventive ways to consume – or trick others into consuming – the rediscovered alcohol. On her way out Hermione hit the jackpot, there was a book off to the side that detailed how to make these various drinks, obviously it was in Old English so she would have to find a more accurate and permanent translation spell but still, it was amazing. _Oh the things I could do..._ Then another thought popped into her head, _Why were most of the books in the Hall already in Modern English? And why are all the books in the library in either Latin, Greek or Modern English?_ As far as she could could remember, Old English was spoken up until the early 12th century, Modern English - in the form that people read and understood today - didn't appear until at least the 15th century. _Hmm, come to think of it, one of the books I was reading last night was published in the 1600s, if the Hall was closed when the Founders left, how did the books get there and how were they translated?_With this in mind, Hermione decided to go back to the desk in the Hall and see if there was some sort of note, before she left she recorded;

_Fat man on keg: Cellar _;)

Hermione walked into the Founder's Hall and over to the desk. She sifted through the papers until she found two receipts and two small pieces of parchment. The receipts were both in Old English which Hermione translated but the other parchments looked much newer and didn't need to be translated...odd.

_Yonwin's Rare Books and Manuscripts ~ Finding the un-findable since 107AD_

_ Standing order: Any new item_

_ Cost: 50,000G (one-time fee, nonrefundable)_

_ Send to: Hogwarts, Founders' Library_

_ Paid in full 18th of April, 982_

Right underneath the receipt there was a small piece of parchment that read;

_ Hogwarts' Librarian,_

_ I regret to inform you that upon my death there will no longer be anyone to run my shop, I will continue to send a copy whatever new things I may find between now and then. You can also buy books Brightmore's Books and Writing Supplies here in Hogsmeade or at the newly opened Flourish and Blotts in Diagon Alley._

_ Thank you,_

_ Osric Yonwin III, June 18th, 1463_

Then there was the second receipt;

_Brightmore's Books and Writing Supplies ~ Catering to scholars since 504BC_

_ (1) Complete Easy-Update Library subscription_

_ Name: Anonymous_

_ Bill to: Gringotts vault #9_

_ Start date: 1st Janurary, 1182_

_ End date: N/A_

_ Price limit: N/A_

_ Book limit: N/A_

_ Restrictions: Omit anything in the Hogwarts General Library_

_ Delivery: "Anonymous" transfer crate_

_ Cost: N/A_

And then a second note;

_ To Whom it May Concern,_

_ Brightmore's Books and Writing Supplies will be closing December 31st, 1740._

_ Please note that your Complete Easy-Update Library subscription will end at that date. We apologise for any inconvenience this may have caused you and thank you for your patronage._

_ We very grudgingly recommend Flourish and Blotts for any similar services you may require._

_ Sincearly,_

_ Alrick Brightmore VIII_

So, the Founders had set it up so that the bookshops would automatically send books to the library; that explained the presence of newer books. However, because both bookshops had gone out of business, it had stopped updating in 1640 when Flourish and Blotts closed out Brightmore's. _Hmm, I'll have to see if I can get something like that started again. Maybe have Flourish and Blotts send a copy of every book that's not already in Hogwarts' regular library up here...that needs thinking about. _It also didn't answer her question as to why all the books were in Modern English, but part of the answer was pretty obvious; magic.

With a shrug Hermione walked to the Founder's Door and returned to her previous activity of exploration. She picked the carving of two gargoyles clasping hands to try next, every few seconds they would grin, stomp their feet and then swing their arms in a rather threatening manner. When The Door opened, she found herself across the hall from the entrance to Dumbledore's office then she noticed there was a tiny plaque right next to The Door, it currently read 'Laffy Taffy', Hermione's eyes widened, _That must be the password!_ She pulled out her improved and expanded version of the Marauder's Map and checked, sure enough, that was his current password. Amazing. Then she remembered one of the thousand random tidbits of information that she had running around in her head; the 70s was when the Laffy Taffy candies first became popular in the Muggle world. _Geese, does Dumbledore ever change?_She asked herself before pulling out her notebook.

_Gargoyles clasping hands: Dumbledore's office entrance_

Shaking her head, Hermione turned back to the wall and touched the symbol that would make The Door appear. The next carving she picked was manacles crossed with shackles and a ball and chain, the ball was rolling around on the floor and the manacles opened and closed slowly. Hermione had a pretty good guess where this went and her suspicions were confirmed when she found herself in the proper dungeons, not the creepy-underground-stone-corridor-where-Slytherins-hang-out dungeons, the we-are-keeping-you-here-and-possibly-torturing-you-until-you-talk dungeons. With a shudder Hermione quickly stepped back into the hall outside Dumbledore's office and tried to block the wall decorations from her mind; she really didn't want to know what all those contraptions did.

_Shackles: Real dungeons_

Scanning The Door Hermione looked for carvings she hadn't tried yet, she settled on an interesting looking tree whose branches were waving in a non-existent wind. When she opened it she found herself in the forbidden forest; she could just see Hagrid's Hut off in the distance and could barely make out the Shrieking Shack. She turned to see where The Door came out and saw that it was just an ordinary looking pine tree, the only distinguishing feature was a slightly more intricate pattern in it's bark and one rather flat side. _Wow, this could be very useful...and very dangerous. I'll have to see if there's a way to hide some of the carvings on The Door from some people._ See, Hermione was planning on showing others the Founder's Hall – especially the Marauders and Lily – but she wasn't sure if giving those particular boys access to a fully-stocked ancient cellar, the Forbidden Forest, and Dumbledore's office was a good idea; havoc would be wreaked that really didn't need to be. _Ah well, I'll figure something out._

_Tree: Forbidden Forest_

She scanned The Door again; there, just off to the right, in the middle, was a picture of the lake, she could just make out small waves rolling around and every now and then a fish jumped. Hermione was a bit wary of touching that particular carving because there was a chance it would dump her in the Black Lake. Again, this _was_ Hogwarts. But, she wanted to know and record everywhere The Door went, so she dutifully pressed the lake carving and stepped through; she was met with a set of stairs that was lit by an eerie green-blue glow, not one to back down, Hermione walked up the stairs. Not in her wildest dreams could she have imagined this, she was in a completely circular room _under_ the lake, in some sort of glass bubble. She felt like she was in an aquarium or something; she was literally in the middle of the lake, water was _all_ around her. The dome had a slightly sloping floor that came to a platform in the middle; in the very centre, at the highest point, were a circle of six reclining chairs. The chairs looked like they could tip all the way back so the occupant could look straight up. The rest of the room had small desks and little clusters of chairs, all around the edge there were chairs and couches with little side tables that looked out at the lake bottom. Hermione was floored, she collapsed into the nearest chair and just stared out at the marine life, magical and not. This was, hands down, the most _unexpected _thing she had ever seen, and she had seen a lot; it even beat the Founder's Hall, because that at least made sense. This was just...wow.

_Lake: Underwater study room_

When Hermione had finally gotten her act together – an hour later – she realised that it was almost lunch time. She hurried back down the stairs and instead of going back to the common room she decided to use her new knowledge of The Door, she pressed the staircase engraving and looked into the Entrance Hall, when she was sure that no one was around – again, thank you Marauder's Map – she stepped through and walked into the Great Hall just in time to see the food appear on the table. _Perfect timing._She thought smugly.

After lunch, Hermione walked back up to the common so as to avoid suspicion and from there she searched The Door for any engravings she may have missed. Now that she had stepped back a bit she noticed a set of Roman numerals running down the right hand side of The Door, she touched number I and instead of filling the whole Door, the numeral just grew to about 10cm high and placed itself above the doorknob. Hermione stepped through and found herself at the end of the first floor corridor. _Well, that's simple enough._Just to make sure she had it right, she turned and pressed number III; as expected she was standing at the end of the corridor where she had received her first taste of adventure; the third floor corridor.

_Roman numerals: Corridors (by floor)_

Hermione turned back to The Door and frowned; Keeper had said that she could get to the Founders' rooms through this door but she was sure that she had touched every carving. Then the ring on her finger glowed blue and changed until you could just see the Ravenclaw ring, then her attention was drawn to the lower right corner of the Hogwarts Crest. When she looked closer she saw the raven turn into a tiny yet intricate carving of a young girl sitting cross-legged, reading a book and what looked like a simple tiara on her head, she was slowing turning the pages of the book and a tendril of hair fluttered around her face. Hermione touched it and like all the other carvings it grew to fill The Door; now that the girl was life-size, Hermione noticed that the tiara was actually Ravenclaw's diadem, above the handle there was a small indentation that fit the size of the ring on her finger, Hermione took a deep breath and pressed the ring against The Door, it swung open and she found herself in a slightly cluttered study. Three of the walls were filled by bookcases and the fourth had maps, floor plans, blueprints, sketches and all manner of tapestries, including a family tree. The desk was covered in books, papers and journals; there were many side tables and cabinets as well as a few sitting chairs. All of it was perfectly organised but it still gave the impression of chaos because of the sheer amount of stuff in the room. Near the wall covered in papers and tapestries – one was of Hogwarts herself – was a beautiful drafting table with many set of drawers beneath it. Hermione realised that that must be where Ravenclaw worked on all the plans for Hogwarts; from the window Hermione guessed that this study must be on the ground floor in one of the older parts of the castle – unless it was an enchanted window in which case the room could be anywhere. Right next to the Founder's Door there was another which when Hermione opened it, revealed a tasteful sitting room, with two more doors around it. The first contained a modest bathroom and the second an elegant bedroom, there was a connecting door between the two. Hermione had found the workspace and living quarters of Rowena Ravenclaw.

Hermione hurried back to the Founder's Door and watched as the ring changed to Hufflepuff's, she touched the carving in the lower left of the Hogwarts crest and a carving of another young girl, this one with a wand tucked behind one ear, sitting on a stool wearing an apron covered in what may be flour, every few seconds she wiped her hands on her apron and little clouds of flour rose into the air. Hermione touched the ring to The Door and stepped into another study, this was similar to Ravenclaw's but there weren't as many books and there was a kind of second room that looked to be an elaborate kitchen of sorts. Her personal rooms were almost identical, the only difference being the colour scheme. The ring changed to Gryffindor's and Hermione quickly touched the corresponding carving.

This time The Door was filled with a young man standing proudly with a sword in one hand, and a wand in the other, he was wearing traditional dueling robes which waved majestically around him. His study was quite messy compared to Ravenclaw's and Hufflepuff's, and Hermione couldn't really figure out if it was organised or not. Maybe Gryffindor was one of those people who had a spastic memory and a random organisation system. Instead of a kitchen, Gryffindor had what looked like a massive training room, there was a formal dueling platform on one side, all sorts of weaponry hung on the walls and a huge open space in the middle. Again, his rooms were different only in their colours.

Hermione was both excited and nervous to see Slytherin's rooms, who knows what he might have hidden away in there? But, the ring changed and a carving of another young man filled The Door, this one was waving his wand over a cauldron with small spirals of steam floating off it. At first Hermione just looked in The Door, checking for any dangerous creatures or booby traps; all she saw was a meticulously organised study and a very large potions room, there were at least 20 different cauldrons, thousands of perfectly labeled ingredients in racks on the walls and many bookcases filled with journals and notebooks. She didn't see anything too suspicious – the many foreign potions ingredients were all currently sealed away – so she stepped in.

However, as she walked through The Door she felt a rush of wind and the sweep of ward spells go through her. Then, a voice filled the air.

"I see the Heir of Hogwarts has finally come around. Took you long enough." It said, sounding rather annoyed.

_Shit._

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><p>Author's Note: Hee hee, cliff hanger! Don't worry, I'm almost done with the next chapter. Reviews will help me finish faster...hint hint.<p> 


	10. Poltergeist

**Preventing the Future**

**Chapter Ten – Poltergeist**

* * *

><p>Disclaimer: It's called fanfiction for a reason people, I don't own it.<p>

Author's note: I felt really evil for leaving you hanging before so here's the next chapter. Enjoy!

* * *

><p>As she walked through the door she felt a rush of wind and the sweep of ward spells go through her. Then, a voice filled the air.<p>

"I see the Heir of Hogwarts has finally come around. Took you long enough." It said, sounding rather annoyed.

_Shit._

Hermione tried to reign in her shock, "Um, yeah. That's me."

"What is your name, girl?"

"Hermione Granger, sir?" She really didn't know who the voice belonged to – or used to belong to – but she figured a little politeness never went astray.

"Hmm. I suppose it is. Now let's see, I don't have much time here because this isn't exactly following the laws of magic."

"Really?" Hermione asked before she could stopper her curiosity. "How's that?"

"Well," The voice, which she guessed must be Salazar's, said. "I left a small piece of my consciousness hidden in this room, for when the Heir arrived. I'm kinda not supposed to do that."

"No worries," Hermione said. "I was sent back in time and am now going to purposefully change everything. I think we're even."

"Did you now? That's interesting...maybe I'll stick around a bit." Salazar muttered to himself. Then he clapped his hands in a very uncharacteristically Slytherin manner. "Anyway, down to business, I'm Salazar Slytherin and you're the Heir of Hogwarts. Are you a pureblood?"

Hermione scowled, it was one to rival Snape's future ones. Not only was she talking to a disembodied voice and standing in _Slytherin's_office but she was talking to a bigoted disembodied voice. She was also about to tell said voice that she was as far from pureblood you could get without being a Muggle. This was not going to end well.

"You know," Salazar's voice said. "You may not be able to see me but I can see that beautiful expression on your face. Now please, answer my question before I do something I'm _really _not supposed to."

As much as Hermione wanted to find out what else the consciousness of a hundreds-year-old dead wizard could do, she figured it was best to just answer his question.

"I'm a Muggleborn."

The voice snorted. "Oh good. You shouldn't be as adverse to helping me; those purebloods can be a bit stuck in their ways. It does make sense too, a Muggleborn as the Heir, it would be hard to find a pureblood with _all _our traits, especially Helga's; believe it or not, she's really quite picky."

"Lovely." Hermione said. "Of all the dead voices I could have found in this school I had to find the one of a pureblood maniac." Then what the voice had said finally registered. "Wait, what?"

"Yes, you heard me, I have nothing against Muggleborns, especially one who has been deemed the Heir of Hogwarts. I'm a pretty good guy, once you get to know me."

"Seriously? How do you explain the fact that almost every single one of your descendants has been an evil, narcissistic, prejudiced ass hole? I should probably also mention that many of the students in your house can be described in a similar manner."

"Oh, you can blame that on my wife." Slytherin said offhandedly.

This threw Hermione off-guard. "Your wife?"

"Yeah, she was a bit mental, liked to pretend purebloods were better than the rest of humanity. I mean, yeah, maybe they should be schooled separately but that's because they don't know our world and usually hold back the other students. I couldn't stand the woman, she would never shut up."

"Then why did you marry her?"

"Arranged marriage." Slytherin grumbled.

"Okay, that explains the children. But what about the students?"

"Well, they were fine in my day but my first grandson, he took over Slytherin house when I died, well, kinda died, I'm not quite dead yet. But yeah, my grandson, he listened to my wife a bit too much I think. I was always busy with my work, maybe I should have spent more time with my kids." The voice faded away for a second but then it came back full-force. "But oh well, can't change that now. Anyway I guess he gave Slytherin house a bit of a reputation. It really is too bad."

"Fine. Children and students accounted for." All of Hermione's views about Slytherin were being shaken around and part of her wanted to believe him when he said he wasn't as bad as people made him out to be, but the other part was pointing out everything that didn't add up. "But what about that dirty great snake you have down in the basement?"

"Harriet?"

"No, the basilisk. You know, massive body, deadly eyes."

"Yeah, Harriet."

Hermione blinked. "You named a basilisk Harriet?"

"Yes. And before you start accusing me of anything, let me explain." Hermione humphed but let him continue. "Thank you. Now, there are many different places in the castle that we built, some of them are hidden, like my chamber in 'the basement', as you called it. I happen to like snakes but the others weren't too fond of them so I built a place where I could play and work with them without annoying – or scaring in Godric's case – the others."

"Let me guess." Hermione said, momentarily ignoring the fact that she had just learned Gryffindor was afraid of snakes, "One of the snakes you liked 'playing' with is a basilisk?"

"That is correct." Slytherin said. "I'm not really sure how you know about the snake because you obviously don't speak Parsletongue – I could teach you by the way – but that's neither here nor there. And anyway, Harriet has a second eyelid she can close which turns off the killer gaze...if she was hurting people it was probably because a powerful Parsletongue related to me was controlling her."

"Oh." Hermione said. "So you're not actually that bad?"

"I thought I just said that, but I'll say it again; no, I am not. In fact, I'm rather perturbed by the fact that my reputation has been so negative all these years."

There was still one more thing that Hermione wondered about. "Hold on, how do you explain why the sorting hat puts the people in Slytherin that all turn out so bad?"

"I don't know, maybe someone messed with it. Or maybe it's just requests people make, you can request a house you know."

"Yeah, I do know. One of my good friends asked not to be placed in your house so he wasn't." Hermione said. "I also got to choose, both times around actually."

"Well, I do have another theory, I mean, I guess I did think that Muggleborns shouldn't be with the other students to start off with so maybe that was a bigger influence than I thought. Anyway, I've had some time to think it all over, sitting in a dungeon for hundreds of years does tend to mellow someone out, gives them time to figure things out, wouldn't you say?"

"I can't actually." Hermione responded, then she backpedaled so as not to sound rude. "I mean, I can't say because I've never been stuck in the dungeons of a castle for that long. The most I've ever done is 42 days. Yes, I counted." Hermione sighed. _Why did I tell him that?_ She asked herself. _Now he's going to ask why on earth I would count days in a dungeon. Too late now..._

"What do you mean '42 days'? It is rather unusual to count dungeon days. Why exactly were you counting?"

"Would you like the long version or the short version?"

"Hmm. That big a story, eh?" Slytherin sounded thoughtful and drifted off into silence for a moment. "Seeing as I've had absolutely nothing to do and nothing interesting to pay attention to all these years I would prefer the long version."

"Okay, long version it is." Hermione looked around for a chair and found a plush green one with black leather trim and black mahogany accents, it was surprisingly comfortable. "You know," She said. "It is really odd talking to only a voice. Don't you have a painting or something you can talk to me from? I'm beginning to act like the mad woman I am, talking to thin air. Only difference is now I actually have an audience." The sarcasm was clearly evident in her voice.

"You know, I really like you. You make good company." Salazar paused again, "Another question, and believe me, there is a point to it."

"Fire away." Hermione said dryly.

"Right, I have no idea what 'fire away' means but I'm going to assume it's a yes. So, which house are you in?"

Hermione blinked, she had not been expecting that. "Gryffindor." She said.

"Oh dear." Salazar said. "You people are all noble and never break the bloody rules." If he had been embodied he would probably be throwing his arms up in defeat and walking away, but he wasn't so he couldn't. Or maybe he was but Hermione just couldn't see him...

Hermione put her hands on her hips, "That's actually not true, the best troublemakers around have come from Gryffindor house. And if it helps, I've probably broken more school rules than the Marauders and twins combined, not to mention all the laws I like to pretend don't exist." Hermione said. "Also, the hat did say I would fit in all the houses." She could literally feel Slytherin's interest perk up again.

"Interesting, laws as well as rules eh?" He said. "Ah yes, I remember now, you've broken the time travel rules -" Hermione cut him off.

"Those ones I didn't actually break...the universe gave me permission."

"Of course it did." The voice said, dripping with incredulity.

"No really, it did. I could tell you-" It was Salazar's turn to interrupt.

"It doesn't matter. You can tell me later, and that dungeon story can wait too. For now, let's do some rule breaking...lots of rule breaking."

Hermione raised an eyebrow. "Are you, one of the founders, telling me to break the rules?"

"Yes, yes I am." Smugness floated through the room. "Godric would kill me!" Salazar yelled gleefully, which was rather disconcerting. "Fortunately, he _did_ follow the rules, all that stuff about passing on when your time came, so he's not around to say anything about it. _And_ I really, really like breaking rules, never got caught either. This time though, it won't matter.." He followed this with a rather evil-sounding laugh.

Hermione was beginning to think that it might be time to make a hasty retreat when Slytherin said something which threw that idea out the proverbial window.

"You see, there's this potion..."

That was all it took, Hermione was sitting up board-straight in the chair, more excited than she had been in a while; potions were fun, especially ones she hadn't heard about (of which there weren't really very many). "Go on."

"I thought that might cheer you up. Anyway, it's not written down anywhere because it was in my head when I so unfortunately passed from this world, well, _almost _passed from this world..." Hermione could tell he was trying to sound guilty but he wasn't doing a very good job. "Anyway, I knew it before so I know it now."

"Yes, you kept you lovely knowledge. Good for you. You said something about a potion?"

"Right. What do you know about poltergeists?" Salazar asked.

Hermione's brain went into overdrive and her jaw dropped. Was he going to suggest what she thought he was?

The voice seemed to grin. "I can see that you know a bit. Yes, I definitely like you. You are going to help me out a bit."

Hermione frowned, "What do I get out of this? How do I know you're not just going to dump me in the lake to make friends with the squid because of who I am? You may be acting all nice right now but it might just be an act, just an elaborate story."

"I like the suspicion, very Slytherin of you. How about this, I will make you a deal. You do this for me and I will not only spare you from my tricks – which will undoubtedly be not quite as innocuous as some, but I will also tell you all you need to know about this school and more. What do you say?"

"Sounds good to me." Hermione said. Then she remembered something, "Hold on, I thought poltergeists were never human...they're sprites, not dead people like ghosts."

"Well, I found a way around that. And anyway, I'm not going to be a _real_ poltergeist, just something very close, and I'm only going to stick around for a little while. It's not like I want to be a ghost. Those are just boring, they can't do anything!"

Hermione had to stifle a laugh. If someone had told her that she would be listening to the disembodied voice of Salazar Slytherin talk about turning himself into a poltergeist she would have laughed in their face.

"Now, how about we get started?" The voice asked.

Hermione spent the next hour diligently writing down the exact recipe for what Slytherin had dubbed his 'Undead Troublemaker' potion. It was probably one of most peculiar yet complicated potions she had ever seen. All the while she was trying to wrap her head around the fact that the most feared founder was a prankster at heart, or at least he was hundreds of years after his death. The twins and the Marauders would have a fit if they knew.

When Hermione had finished writing down the recipe in one of her many notebooks, she copied it onto the big board in the potions lab area of his study. Then she noticed the time. "Shit!"

"What?" Salazar asked.

"I'm late for dinner." Hermione said as she hurriedly gathered her stuff.

"Ah, food." Salazar said sadly, "I remember when I got to eat food."

Hermione just rolled her eyes as she rushed through the Founders' Door and into the Entrance Hall. She spent the rest of the evening talking with Salazar and gathering all the ingredients for his potion. Then, Salazar told her about a small problem they might encounter; apparently, there was some sort of magical law that says any new poltergeist – usually referring to baby ones – needed to have a sponsor of sorts. It was time to find Peeves.

"Oy! Peeves!" Hermione yelled at the poltergeist who was currently having one hell of a time pulling carpets from under unsuspecting professors. "We need to talk."

Peeves cackled as he flew over. "Oh, lookie here, the timey wimey girl is back. Lets see, what should we do with you? Should we play nice?"

Hermione grinned, she had a unique relationship with Peeves, some days he would pester her just like every other person in the school but other days they would have great chats about his misadventures in the future – she had told him when she came from to get him to shut up one day. "I have a proposition." She said.

"Ooooo! We would love a proposition from Herm Herm! She is interesting...what is it you were thinking? Are you finally going to-" Hermione cut him off.

"No. Nothing like that. I'm going to bring you company."

Peeves almost fell out of the air, if that was possible.

"You see, I have this friend...A nice _old_ friend, who wishes to hang around for a while. But to do so he needs your help."

Peeves was interested, no one had ever approached him with something like this before. It was new. And new was fun! "Okidokie!" He yelled and he did a series of flips and spins in the air which made Hermione a little sick to her stomach.

"So, does that mean you'll help?" She asked hopefully.

"That it does little missy! Where to?

"Just this little place I found..." Hermione said elusively. "But you have to swear that you won't mess it up. I don't know if that's possible because they might have put spells or something on it to protect it from mischief makers such as yourself but still, I'm not taking any chances."

This definitely had Peeves' attention. "They? Who's they? Are they someone I know? What is this place? Why don't I know about it?" He kept rattling off questions as he followed her to the library.

Just before they were going to round the corner Hermione waved a hand around where Peeves' legs would have been. "You need to go invisible now, people will wonder what you are doing in the library if not wreaking havoc."

Peeves gave her a mock salute and promptly vanished from sight, but Hermione could still here the random giggle or taunting comment and the odd book doing things books weren't made to do. Rolling her eyes, walked all the way back towards the restricted section. In the far corner, etched in the stone beneath a portrait of a young student leaning back in a chair reading a book with his feet on the table, was a carving of a mountain of books. Hermione gently placed her hand over the markings and the familiar door appeared in the wall. Apparently it is possible for a poltergeist to fall out of the air because Peeves became visible again and promptly disappeared into the floor with a very undignified squeal.

To give credit where credit where credit it due, it should be mentioned that Peeves took the rest of the Founder's Hall/Door semi-tour quite well; there was no more falling out of the air to be done. Hermione also became the first human in many hundreds of years to know about a particularly useful bit of house elf magic. Matri – the head elf for the Founder's Hall – took one look at Peeves, snapped her fingers and he was frozen in the air.

"What is misses doing with the Peeves?" Matri asked.

"Well, I need him to help me with something but because it's best not to leave unsolved mysteries around a poltergeist, I was giving him a _very_ basic tour. Don't worry though, I will convince him not to wreck the place." Hermione said. It was true too, she had lots of things to bribe Peeves with, not the least being the promise of a 'helper'.

"Oh." Matri said, then another elf popped in and they started whispering, then another and another. Pretty soon there were four Founders' Hall elves having a heated discussion. A few seconds later the others popped away and Matri turned to Hermione. "Misses, is you being able to keep secrets?"

Hermione's eyebrows shot up, first an argument then secrets? Apparently there was a lot Hermione didn't know about house elves, not just their work preferences. "Yes, I'm actually quite good at keeping secrets."

"We elves is having a way to be keeping our Hall safe from Peeves." Matri said with a grin.

"Really?" Hermione asked.

"Yes." Matri replied proudly, then she snapped her fingers. Nothing happened.

"Um." Hermione said. "What did you do?"

Matri ignored her. _Very odd for an elf,_ Hermione though. _Maybe there's something about being the head elf for the Hall...they seem to be a bit assertive..._

Peeves, meanwhile, had been floating around the room inspecting things.

"Peevesie!" Matri called. Peeves shot over to where they were standing and stood at attention.

"What can Peeves do for you lovely ladies?" Peeves asked with a wicked smile.

Matri returned the smile and said, "Go knock over that bookcase." Peeves snapped a salute and raced to the books.

"NO!" Hermione yelled. "You can't destroy the Hall!" But it was too late, Peeves had reached the shelves. However, when he tried to throw the books, nothing happened. He tried three more times before going back to Matri and scowling.

"What did you do?" Peeves demanded.

Matri smiled sweetly. "I is making the Hall safe from Peevesie."

"Wow." Hermione breathed, "That is spectacular. I didn't know that was possible.

Hermione stood over the small silver cauldron checking and double checking each and every step Salazar's ghost-ish thingy's voice had told her; this was an extremely difficult potion but if they managed to pull it off they would be the first to _create_ a poltergeist. Talk about bragging rights!

Peeves floated silently through the wall, he had been extraordinarily quiet these last two days while Hermione was working on the potion, something for which she was extremely grateful. The professors on the other hand, they were terrified; the last time Peeves had been this quiet was when he had systematically drawn a mustache on every single portrait and then convinced them all to sing "I know a song that gets on everybody's nerves" for a week, all the while dousing the suites of armour in Muggle gasoline and setting them on fire all at the same time. Needless to say, the teachers were worried, they could be found hovering in their offices having hushed conversations, trying to figure out what he might be doing. Little did they know that the trouble was just beginning. Soon, they were going to have to deal with _two_ poltergeists, and they would have student support...

Hermione pulled the small cauldron off the flames and let it sit on the bench to cool. Peeves came up right beside it. "Is timey wimey girl finished?"

"Yes, Peeves, I'm finished. Now, please don't call me that, I don't need the entire school knowing when I'm from. Remember, I can hurt you..." It was true, she could. Ron and Harry had found a way freeze Peeves, it came in handy when trying to coerce the troublemaker.

"Okay, here we go." Hermione said as she dumped the contents of the cauldron over a small stone that was set on the bench; apparently that was where Salazar had anchored himself for all these years. There was a huge billow of smoke, a resounding boom, and a high pitched scream before an other worldly voice asked,

"Who claims guardianship over this new spirit?"

"That would be me, oh big voice of voices! Peeves!" Peeves said with glee.

"Do you vow to teach him the ways of the troublemakers?"

"Oh yes, sir!" Peeves snapped off a salute.

"Don't call me sir." The voice said with a huff of annoyance.

"Yes, ma'am!" He said with a giggle.

"Why did I take this job?" The voice asked to no one in particular. "Whatever. Alright, what shall the name of – ah screw it, what do ya wanna be called?" The voice was supposed to be all high and mighty but when you are the controller of poltergeists there really was no point in sticking with the formalities.

"Hellion. I want to be called Hellion." The spirit of Salazar said.

"Okay, hold on. I gotta check if it's taken or not." There was silence and then the voice came back. "Nope, all good. I dub thee, Hellion! Newest of our elite group of mischief makers."

Then, the spirit of Salazar condensed into a more solid form, he looked to be about 18 years old and was wearing an expression that would terrify students and teachers alike.

"There, I'm done." The voice said, "Unless...would you like some first-time advice?"

Hermione groaned as the king/queen thing of the poltergeists held a secret conference with Peeves and Hellion. All she could think was, _At least I have immunity!_

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><p>Author's note: Thank you all so much for your alertsfavourites, they are really nice; but, reviews are nicer!


	11. Meeting the Gang

**Preventing the Future**

**Chapter Eleven - Meeting the Gang**

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><p>Disclaimer: Fanfiction, it's self-explanatory.<p>

Author's Note: Sorry it's a short chapter but your reviews made me happy so I'm posting what I have. Enjoy!

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><p>Hermione spent the last week of summer exploring the Founder's Hall, Door and the rooms through the Door. She especially liked spending time in the Lake Room, as she decided to call it; it was perfect for morning stretches andor a cup of tea. She quickly found that Matri and the Founder's Hall elves had cleaned all the rooms she had found through the door and Matri was able to find her wherever she was. Matri seemed to know exactly what Hermione wanted or needed even before she did, so the rest of the holidays were extremely enjoyable; Matri was also able to tell her when one of the professors was looking for her and/or coming into the Gryffindor common room so she could get there without raising suspicions. Along with reading and studying, Hermione also worked out a simple exercise regime to keep herself in shape; she had realised that without the constant running and hiding of war she was beginning to feel lazy and out of shape. That was remedied by stretches in the Lake Room and exercises in the training area in Godric's room. She hadn't noticed how much energy she and the others had used during the war and without the fighting as an outlet, she had just been gathering more and more in her body and it needed an outlet. Hermione even found a few books about sword play that she tried her hand at as well as working on extending her fighting skills past simple but powerful kicks and punches and into some more fluid and artistic forms of combat. It made her feel good to know that she was learning as well as staying in shape.

There was also the fun she had with Peeves and Hellion - Salazar refused to answer to his real name, they took immense pleasure in torturing the teachers and planning pranks for the new school year. The students wouldn't know what hit them.

It wasn't long before the first of September rolled around, and before she knew it the Hogwart's Express was pulling into the station at Hogsmeade.

Hermione stood hidden behind one of the trick tapestries next to the entrance hall, watching as the students rushed out of the carriages and into the great hall. She wanted to draw the least amount of attention to herself possible, so she had to time this just right. When about three quarters of the students had gone in she melted into the side of the crowd and let it carry her towards the Gryffindor table. She looked around until she found a relatively empty area and sat down, not in the very middle of the space but not too close to the others around her; the perfect place to be as inconspicuous as possible.

The people sitting on either side of her gave her one quick look each, something that said, 'Why is she sitting there?' It wasn't, 'Who is she?' Or, 'I don't recognize her.' She mentally shrugged, everything would become clear in time, that was one thing she had way too much experience with. After the normal start-of-term announcements, Dumbledore had her stand up and introduced her as the girl "who was coming to complete, and test in, her NEWTS". There was a bit of muttering but people were more interested in getting to the feast so they weren't really paying much attention, which was probably a good thing, and all part of one of Dumbledore's 'plans'.

The feast had already begun when the doors swung open and four of the people she was dreading meeting walked in. _Oh well, I guess I have to deal with them eventually._Hermione thought as they walked straight to where she was sitting.

"Woah!" A handsome young man who Hermione guessed to be Sirius said, walking up to where she was sitting. "Looks like a new girl stole our seats!"

"Ah, Padfoot," Yup, it was definitely Sirius. "I do believe you are correct. What _shall_ we do about this? It is simply unacceptable." _Well, _Hermione thought, _I can certainly see where Harry gets his looks from, they are very similar. But,_ She added as an afterthought. _They aren't as identical as people said..._

As soon as Hermione laid eyes on the next boy she had a very rare surge of intense emotion, anger. It had been a while since she had felt this strongly about something other than survival and winning. She literally had to grip the bench to stop herself from jumping up and strangling the plump bastard. But she reminded herself that she was here to change things, including the poor decisions made by a certain rat. She needed to stick to the plan, but that didn't stop her from being frigid.

"We should kick her out!" Peter said in a rather pitiful voice, immediately looking to Sirius for reassurance and approval. Hermione's glare could have downed an army.

Remus, who, unlike the others, had felt the air around Hermione change in a very negative manner when Peter arrived, said, "Um, Peter, I don't think that's a very good idea." Then to avoid drawing attention to her reaction he added, "I mean, it's just not very nice."

"Yeah," Sirius butted in with his signature grin. "After all, we don't want her to get the wrong impression of Hogwarts." And when he said 'Hogwarts' everyone knew he meant himself. Then he sat down right next to her and slid his arm around her waist. Hermione rolled her eyes, apparently Sirius' reputation as a notorious flirt and womanizer had not been exaggerated. "I'm Sirius and more than honoured to make your acquaintance."

"Nice to meet you Sirius. Now, would you mind removing your arm?"

"Why would I want to do that, love?" Sirius asked with another grin, eliciting a chuckle from Remus and laughs from James, Peter and all those surrounding them.

"Because I don't take kindly to pushy guys." Was Hermione's response, then with an imperceptible wave of her hand she sent Sirius sliding down the bench, stopping him right before he ran into a cracking-up student. The look on his face was priceless. Everyone burst into a new round of laughter and Hermione looked satisfied.

James whacked Sirius on the shoulder and plopped down into his reluctantly abandoned seat. "I like you!" He said, filling his plate with food. "I'm James by the way, this nut-head is Sirius but I think you know that already, this is Remus, and this," He pointed at Peter who was already stuffing his face, "Well, um. That's Peter."

Hermione's face darkened and a glint of...something...appeared in her eyes. To an innocent bystander it was unreadable but Hermione knew it was hatred, pure hatred. Before she did anything rash, like freezing him solid and then shattering him into a million pieces, she reminded herself that she was here to help, to fix, and that she would have to be civil.

"Well, it's nice to meet you James, Remus, Sirius...Peter."

The way she said Peter made it sound like the most repulsive swear word in the universe (and to Hermione it was).

Remus, who was sitting directly across from Hermione seemed to be the only one who noticed her change in tone; he frowned, that was definitely interesting. She had seemed nice enough but in that one moment she was different, that was something to keep in mind. She had only known them for all of five minutes and had had an extremely worrying reaction to Peter; this wasn't that odd an occurrence because Peter tended to put people off. Remus decided that the best thing to do would be to keep an eye on her, so he joined in on the conversation between her, James and Sirius' conversation.

"...actually a year older?" Remus heard James say.

"Who's a year older?" Remus asked, a little embarrassed that he hadn't been paying attention before.

"I am." Hermione said. "I'm 18, most of my education, up till now, has been practical. However, the ministry doesn't accept that type of education as legitimate so I'm here to complete my 'official' or 'formal' education."

"Oh." Remus said, digesting and filing away this new information.

"I know!" James said enthusiastically. "Isn't it awesome!"

They then proceeded to grill Hermione on what she had studied so far, what her parents did, where she lived, and her hobbies, finally she managed to change the subject.

"So, why were you guys late for the feast?"

James and Sirius adopted identical grins, Peter got all excited and Remus just shook his head sadly, but he did have a small smile tugging at his mouth.

"Well," Started James, "Apparently people don't really appreciate it when you douse them with water right before they get off the train."

"Yeah, who would have known?" Sirius asked with a smile.

"Hey, it's not nearly as bad a what those Marauders get up to." James said, with a completely straight face.

"Yeah, those guys are just nuts." Remus added.

"Remember that one time when they made rainclouds follow all the girls?" Peter asked.

At this point a girl with flowing red hair walked over to where they were sitting, "I certainly do, that was very immature of them."

"Are you kidding?" Exclaimed Sirius, "Those guys are geniuses, you could see right through their shirts. Thank Merlin for white blouses!"

It was only Hermione's years of training and struggles that stopped her from cracking up right there and then. Hermione knew that they hadn't told the school that they were the Marauders but...she never thought they were such good liars. Their act was disturbingly sincere. Instead she twisted around in her seat so she could see Lily

"Hello, I'm Hermione." Hermione said holding her hand out.

"It's nice to meet you Hermione. I'm Lily, the head girl, and we'll be sharing the same dorm. I hope you don't mind, I would have stopped by earlier except I hate interrupting banter between friends. McGonagall would like me to show you where our common room is and help you find your way around. If you want, that is."

Hermione was impressed, there were many ways a head girl could have approached that situation, pompously, arrogantly, condescendingly, rudely, shyly, or even not at all. Lily did it perfectly. The professors and Dumbledore had decided that they would pretend Hermione had just arrived, they didn't want to have to explain why a transfer student had been living in the castle for the last week. Anyway, Hermione thought having people show her around the castle would be a perfect excuse to get to know them.

"Thanks, I would like that."

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><p>Author's Note: As you probably gathered from above, reviews make me happy, and a happy author makes for quicker updates!<p> 


	12. A Tour and Some Romans

**Preventing the Future**

**Chapter Twelve – A Tour and Some Romans**

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><p>Disclaimer: These are getting annoying; fanfiction, I'm a fan and as such I don't get paid for this.<p>

Author's note: Sorry about the confusion about the Marauders, a few people mentioned it in their reviews. James, Sirius, Remus and Peter are still the Marauders, the school just doesn't know it. I tried to explain it a bit better in this chapter. Enjoy!

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><p>"Okay, so, this is our dorm." Lily said. "Because I'm head girl I do actually have my own dorm and a common room shared with the head boy, but I prefer to stay here; it gets a bit lonely on my own. Not to mention the fact that if I stayed there Potter would stay there too, and then I'd have to deal with him all the time. At least this way I have a place to escape to. Usually I just use those rooms to study and hang out, sometimes we even do sleepovers. Anyway, this bed will be yours, that one's Alice's, Emily's, and Cristina's." Lily pointed at each bed in turn and Hermione did her best to remember them all. "I can see that your stuff is already here so we don't need to worry about that."<p>

Hermione looked around and felt a little squeeze in her hardened heart; the room looked exactly as it had (or would) in her 4th year, before everything went bad. It was almost scary how peaceful, serene and ... normal it was in this time. No emergency supplies, no extra cots, no cracks in the windows, no soft sobs emanating from the bathroom; it was so the same and yet, so different. What made her step back though, was the fact that the bed she had been assigned was the same one she had had many years before. It was a bittersweet moment.

After Lily had shown Hermione the dorm she took her back downstairs to the common room. "Would you like me to give you a tour of the castle now or would you like to wait until tomorrow?" She asked Hermione.

"How about we start today. I should tell you though, I have a very good memory so it probably won't take long for me to find my way around on my own." Hermione said, that was her fall-back excuse to explain why she would know where she was going. It wouldn't take the others, the boys in particular, too long to find out that she knew _every _nook and cranny (even one's they didn't), but she would like to postpone that conversation until a time when she had her thoughts organized enough to explain everything properly.

Lily smiled at the mysterious new girl; there was something about her that just didn't quite fit, she couldn't put her finger on it but she knew it was there. "I'll take your word for that but I assure you, the castle can be quite confusing at times."

Hermione just nodded her head and said mysteriously, "We shall see."

Lily raised an eyebrow but didn't push the subject. "Okay, since I'm head girl I have rounds to make, they start in half an hour. We can start the tour now and then you can just follow me on my rounds. How does that sound?"

"Sounds great."

Lily then proceeded to show her the different ways to and from the Great Hall, different combinations of routes between commonly used classrooms, the staircases to watch out for, a few suites of armour which had bad attitudes, Peeves' favourite haunts (not that Hermione would have difficulties in this department), and many other useful parts of the castle. It surprised Hermione how well Lily knew the castle, she had shown her many of the secret passages within the schools and places to avoid certain teachers. Who would have known that the perfect Lily Evans knew hidey holes? She was disappointed that Lily didn't know where the kitchens were because she was feeling rather peckish but hey, you can't have everything in life.

To Lily's pleasant surprise, Hermione did actually seem to have a great memory, she could parrot back everything Lily told her and had a perfect sense of direction. She couldn't help but feel that she might have serious competition for the place of best student this year. _Oh well, _she thought, _I guess it will just make me work harder. Who knows, maybe she can even help me..._

Around 9 pm they ran into James, who Lily informed her was the head boy, and another prefect doing their rounds.

"Ah, Lily, my brilliant flower!" James said with a sweeping bow. "How lovely you are looking tonight."

Lily rolled her eyes, "Potter, please just continue with your rounds so we can finish ours."

The prefect and Hermione caught each others' eye, the prefect smiled and Hermione nodded her head in his direction, apparently this was a regular occurrence. James and Lily continued with their banter for about five minutes during which Hermione and the prefect watched, amused. Finally, Lily grabbed Hermione's arm and dragged her off, all the while glaring at James whose expression was that of someone who had just had their pride severely damaged.

"Right. Where were we?" Lily asked.

"You were going to show me the best route to take from the transfiguration classroom to the Gryffindor tower right before lunch. And then we would be done for the night."

"Ah, yes." Lily said, still slightly distracted. "Off we go."

However, they didn't get very far because as they rounded a corner near the end of the 4th floor corridor they ran into Peeves and Hellion. _Oh, this is going to be interesting._Hermione thought as the two Poltergeists noticed them.

"Oh look what we found Peeves, my good friend." Hellion said with a mischievous smirk.

"Ooooo! Its the top top student girl and the transfer person! What, oh what will we do?" Peeves nearly shrieked as he turned somersaults in the air.

"Oh my god, there's two of them!" Lily said, looking like she wanted to faint.

Hermione pasted an innocent expression on her face. "What do you mean two? Two of who?"

Lily frowned and rubbed her temples, "Poltergeists, the one on the right is Peeves and I don't know the other one's name but whoever it is, it can't be good."

Hellion smirked, "Oh goody! Peeves, I see your reputation proceeds you!" Then he raced towards Lily and stopped less than ten centimetres from her face. "I'm Hellion, I'd say I'm pleased to make your acquaintance but that would imply I'm your friend and that just won't do!" Then he gave a seriously terrifying cackle and flipped over while zooming back to Peeves. They high-fived and disappeared through the ceiling.

When Lily went over to where they had been before she groaned. "Oh I _really_ don't want to clean this up."

Hermione looked over her shoulder and snorted. "Well, those poltergeists sure are inventive." _And apparently Hellion can conjure and/or transfigure...I'm sure Peeves could never do magic before. Well, this will _definitely _make things interesting._

"Inventive?" Lily said with exasperation. "They put a _**Roman Army **_in the middle of the hallway!"

Sure enough, two metres of the hall were now occupied by hundreds of half-sized Roman soldiers. As soon as Lily and Hermione got closer, the soldiers raised shields and spears and started advancing on the girls, who made the smart decision and retreated.

"Well," Lily said. "What are we going to do about this?"

Hermione shrugged, "They're actually kinda cool, I say we leave them and let the students have a laugh."

Lily looked like she was having an internal war. "I suppose...But can we at least try to blunt the tips of those swords and spears, they look like they could do some real damage." Hermione agreed and they spent a few minutes altering the soldiers weapons.

"You know," Lily said. "The boys would love this, they are always laughing at those Marauders' pranks. But I'm pretty sure the Marauders have never done something quite this...unique."

Hermione would have smiled, "I'd really like to meet these Marauders, they sound very interesting."

Lily laughed, "Wouldn't we all? I'm pretty sure the teachers would throw them in permanent detention, half the students would love them, the other half hate them and the boys...well, James and Sirius would probably worship the ground they walk on. Those two have pulled a few pranks of their own, nothing on the scale of the Marauders but still funny, or annoying, depending on who you talk to."

Hermione's eyebrows reached new heights, _So that's how they keep the suspicion off them, they pull little pranks, and leave the big stuff to the Marauders...pretty smart if you ask me._"I see," She said out loud. "I think this school is going to be very interesting."

"You have no idea." Lily muttered. "Especially now that we have _two _poltergeists running around. And 'Hellion'? Gosh, if that name is anything to go by I don't want to get on his bad side."

"Well, now that we have that all sorted out shall we finish up?"

Once they made it back to the common room they sat in front of the fire and spent the rest of the evening talking about the ancient Muggle history they had studied before they came to Hogwarts and/or that they had read about. Then the two girls speculated as to possibly magical influences or interactions in these events, it was really quite interesting, even if no one else had the faintest clue what they were talking about. Lily also told Hermione about the mysterious 'Marauders' (Hermione was greatly amused that no one really knew who they were), and then about the jerk James Potter, his side-kick Sirius Black, his follower Peter Pettigrew, and the curious Remus Lupin. Lily wasn't really sure why Remus, who she said was quite nice and sensible, would hang out with the other boys but there was no accounting for taste. Lily also told Hermione about the classes, teachers, and other students.

By the time they finally retired to their dorm room Hermione felt that she was fairly caught up on Hogwarts' current affairs – from Lily's perspective. However, as they crawled into bed Lily realized that while she had told Hermione all about herself and the castle's other inhabitants, she knew next to nothing about Hermione as a person; all she knew was her name, her age, she was muggle-born, she had been home schooled and that she had an almost perfect memory. The fact that Hermione hadn't been forthcoming with _any _personal information made Lily a little suspicious - it was obvious that she was hiding something. Now all she had to do was figure out what.

"Hermione?"

"Yes?"

"Who are you?"

Hermione started, that was a loaded question; she could tell that Lily was trying to figure her out, that she had noticed that she hadn't told the truth about who she was and wanted to know. However, Lily was also giving her a way to keep those secrets, it was as if she was knocking on the door to her life and past; Hermione could either step out or she could let Lily in. Hermione knew that she would eventually tell Lily and the boys the full story, probably sooner rather than later too, she had no reason not to, but she didn't want to dump everything on her at once.

"I'm Hermione Jean Granger." She said slowly

"Oh." Lily was disappointed, she had hoped that Hermione would open up a bit when she was relaxed and it was just the two of them (their roommates were sound asleep and had spelled their curtains for silence). "Okay."

Hermione propped her head up so she could see Lily, "I know you were looking for a better answer, some sort of explanation." She thought hard about how to phrase this, "But I don't think you're ready to hear it."

Lily was surprised, to say the least. Who was this girl? There was a mystery surrounding her and she promised herself she would figure out what it was. Then she thought about how Hermione had phrased her answer.

"Wait, is it that I'm not ready to hear it or you're not ready to tell it?"

_Damn._ Hermione thought. _She really is as smart as everyone said._

"You're a very observant girl, Lily. And you're partially right." Hermione said as she laid back down and face the canopy of her bed. "I'm not ready to tell because I haven't exactly figured out an easy way to explain and, as it stands right now, a full explanation would take many days. I need time to sort through my thoughts. I also need to talk to a few people and do a few things before I start telling everyone where I'm from." It was true, she wanted to finish up her notebooks and talk with Peter and Snape before she did (or said) anything else.

"Wow." Lily said, starting at Hermione with her jaw a bit slack, "Now I'm really interested." She knew that she should leave it there and just drop the subject but her curiosity got the better of her.

"Is there _anything_ you can tell me? Just a small hint maybe?"

Hermione sighed, _I should have seen this coming._"Well, I suppose since I'm going to tell you everything later I might as well give you some food for thought..." Lily's eyes widened in anticipation. "I'm from the future and I'm here to change some things, everything to be precise."

Lily gasped. "But you can't do that!" She exclaimed in a loud whisper. "You will create a paradox, you'll upset the balance of the universe, you could erase yourself from history, you'll mess stuff up!"

If Hermione had remembered how, she would have smiled. "But that's the thing, I was sent back, _by the Universe _to change things, to prevent the future by fixing the past. I have a feeling the Universe will manage to prevent any paradox that may decide to rear it's ugly head."

"Oh." Lily said after a moment or two of silence. "The future must be pretty bad if the universe decided to break it's own rules...I didn't even know it could do that."

"Yeah, it is, or will be, no, was...Dah! Screw tenses, I'm going to refer to it as the past. It's my personal past and _won't_ be the future for you people. Anyway, to cut what could be a long story short, our good old friend Voldy rose and fell and rose again - don't ask, it's complicated and I'll tell you later - and eventually won, wiping out everything good. And when I say 'everything', I mean _everything _good. He literally destroyed the world. I'm here to make sure that doesn't happen."

"Oh." That was quickly becoming Lily's new favourite word.

"Yup, 'oh', is right. Now, you can go ahead and think up a ton of questions for me and I will answer them all later."

"Okay." Lily said, she was already grabbing a piece of parchment and began to scribble away furiously. Hermione had a feeling that Lily was going to be up all night planning an interrogation.

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><p>Author's Note: Okay, I like getting reviews, and have decided that I'm going to respond to the thought-out reviews. For example, if you ask a question, I will probably answer it, unless it will give away the plot in some way. Also, anonymous reviews are still nice but if you want a response you'll have to actually sign it. Anyway, thanks for all those who reviewedalerted/favourited the story!


	13. Peter

**Preventing the Future**

**Chapter Thirteen - Peter**

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><p>Disclaimer: If you recognise it, it's not mine.<p>

Author's note: Well...I don't really have much to say. Enjoy!

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><p>Hermione woke at about four in the morning with a gasp, covered in cold sweat, she shot up in bed and promptly fell out because she was so tangled up in the sheets. In less than a second she was half-sitting up with her wand in her hand trying to figure out what happened and who was attacking, then she remembered her dream - or nightmare as the case may be.<p>

_Flashback/Dream_

Hermione and Fred were standing side-by-side in the middle of the street, firing spells with deadly accuracy; they were the first line of defense between a pack of werewolves and the battle that was raging behind them, the only reason they weren't dead yet was because it wasn't a full moon. There were nearly fifty werewolves racing towards them but they held their ground, they took the twisted humans down one by one and by the time they reached actual fighting distance there were only ten left. Hermione and Fred drew swords and hacked at the creatures who had succumbed to the wolf, they had almost finished when Hermione was faced by the most terrible of them all, Greyback. Fred dispatched the last one right as Hermione felt her face get ripped apart by the werewolf's unnaturally long fingernails, the pain was nearly unbearable. But Hermione's dream wasn't finished yet, all the werewolves they had killed, stirred in their death and then got back up, transformed and charged the two of them, Fred and Hermione's bodies were shredded by the the powerful jaws of the wolves. Then, Hermione watched helplessly as all her friends and comrades were decimated by the wolves, their insides turned out, their heads snapped off, their limbs forcefully torn from their bodies. It was a massacre because Hermione hadn't done her job, it was all her fault, she should have been able to stop this, she could have saved them, she should have helped!

_End Flashback/Dream_

Hermione dropped her head into her hands and took calming breaths, the last thing she needed to do was go all soldier on her new roommates. She vanished her sheets because she couldn't be bothered to work her way out of them and hurried over to the bathroom. Looking in the mirror Hermione saw that the scars were gone, Greyback may have marked her that day but she had lived, they had won that battle. Hermione splashed water on her face and knew that she was so hyped up on adrenaline that she wasn't going to be getting any more sleep that night so she dressed and wandered down to the common room. With a frown she tried to calm herself but was finding it difficult, what she really needed was a room of Death Eaters to obliterate. So, she headed to the Room of Requirement, as she stepped in she transfigured her clothing into her usual combat gear and took a look around. The room had provided row upon row of masked Death Eaters, just waiting to be attacked. Hermione took a deep breath and started in on them, she cut them, blew them up, blasted them to smithereens, lopped their heads off, drew and quartered them, sprayed them with acid, turned them to dust, set them on fire, gutted them, rearranged their organs, skinned them and some she outright killed, one jet of green light finishing them off for good. An hour and a half later she leaned against the wall and slid to the floor, sated for the moment. Then a thought occurred to her; _What would the people here think if they saw that? They'd send me straight to Azkaban without a second thought._ She sighed. _Oh Merlin, I've changed. I just 'killed' these dummies in some of the worst ways possible, and I don't even feel bad about it! What does that make me?_

Hermione sat there in silence as she tried to figure out who she was now that she didn't have hoards of Death Eaters to take her anger out on, was she evil? _These people certainly would think so, I'm a dark witch to them. They'd probably label me the next Dark Lady._ Hermione snorted, she would make a pretty good Dark Lady, 'Lady Death' or something. It would fit, she knew plenty of ways to kill people, light, dark and grey. _Hey, I could be the Grey Lady! Nah, it's taken._ Then, figuring that she probably shouldn't be thinking of names she could use as the next Voldemort, Hermione remembered all the things she had fought for, the people who had died for a better future. When she had finished she felt a little something stir in her heart, something she thought she'd completely lost, hope. It was tiny but it was enough, _No, no darkness for me._ Hermione thought, _Anyway, it's too much work._

Hermione shrugged and went to the shower that the room had thoughtfully provided by the time she was finished it was six and she debated between heading off to breakfast and then hiding in the library or waiting in the common room to answer Lily's questions like a good little girl. In the end it was her desire for coffee that decided it. Before the war, she had had a bit of a caffeine addiction, but due to obvious reasons, mostly concerning a lack of supply, she had given it up. Now, however, she could have all the coffee she wanted – so she did. She told the little voice in the back of her head that was saying, _You're running away..._to shut up.

Just as she approached the great hall she realized it wouldn't be open for another hour at least. _Damn. That sucks._ She thought. So she went and visited the kitchens to beg some food off the elves. She slipped through the fruit painting and hid surreptitiously in the corner; the elves were always quite busy in the morning and she didn't want to cause a ruckus because that usually resulted in spilt drinks or messed up food, neither of which would be appreciated by _anyone_.

She looked around until she spotted a chirpier-than-usual elf (she also happened to be rather small for an elf) who wasn't currently carrying anything. She magically tapped the elf on their shoulder. The elf whipped around with it's eyes wide as saucers, when it spotted Hermione they went even wider, if that was possible. Looking around frantically it dashed over to where Hermione was lounging against the wall. The elf did a funny little twitch as it arrived in front of Hermione, she guessed that they weren't used to being snuck up on.

"Can Dinky help Miss with something?" The poor thing, which was now obviously female, looked rather terrified.

It took Hermione a few seconds to realize that she probably had her normal expression on, something between a scowl and a mask of indifference; apparently the elves of this time were a little more trusting than those in the future and not used to seeing the looks of war on people's faces. _Whoops, _she thought. _Um, what do I do to put a timid house elf at ease? Shit. Think, Hermione, think!_

_You smile_, a small voice in the back of her head whispered.

_Shit. I don't remember how!_But, not one to give up, Hermione mustered up a fair amount of her strength and forced the edges of her lips up and ordered the corners of her eyes to crinkle a bit. It came across as more of a sneer-ish thing but it must have worked a bit because the little elf seemed to relax, if only by a fraction.

_Whew,_Hermione mentally sighed. "I was wondering if it would be possible for me to grab some breakfast a bit early."

Dinky grinned. "I can certainly help Miss with that. What would Miss like? We have everything."

Hermione thought for moment, "Just coffee and toast with jam please, maybe a bit of fruit as well. You don't have to pull out all the stops for me though, simple is preferable. I will just sit over here in the corner out of the way." She gestured to the corner where a small table was situated.

Dinky looked a little tearful. "You students is too kind to us house elves in these kitchens here. Always so polite, we is not needing it."

Hermione frowned, something she found infinitely easier than smiling, and crouched down to look Dinky in the eyes.

"What do you mean 'you students'? Just exactly how many people come down here?"

Dinky lifted her shoulders in an elf shrug, "Not many, just Misters Potter and Black, sometimes Mister Lupin and once we saw Mister Pettigrew." Here, Dinky got a rather mischievous look on her face, an expression Hermione had never seen on a house elf before, "I is not really supposed to be telling you this but I was never ordered not to so I is being able to. We is always liking it when the Misters come down here. They is usually asking for lots of food or is pulling fun tricks and we is helping them." With that, Dinky ran off to get the food.

This time the expression wasn't painful, in fact she looked rather amused, even if it wasn't really a smile. Dinky had just given her a brilliant idea.

When Dinky returned with the food she stopped up short; there was a glint of devilish humour in the girl's eyes, similar to that found in Potter, Black and sometimes Lupin's. Only this was a little more...dangerous, to poor elf didn't know whether this was a good thing or not.

As she took a sip of her delightful coffee Hermione said, "I never knew that house elves had a sense of humour."

"Oh yes Miss." Dinky replied, "We is thinking the tricks is great fun!"

"I see," Hermione said, a plan taking forming in her mind. "And would you mind helping out another prankster? I can think of a few things that would be … amusing, but I wouldn't be able to do them on my own." She pointedly raised an eyebrow at the surprised elf.

"Miss would pull tricks too?" Dinky's eyes went wide again as she realized exactly what Hermione was asking. Slowly a large grin spread across the elf's face, "Oh that would be pleasing us more than anything Miss!"

Hermione's face curled into what would have to do as a smile, it was more a feral grin but that wasn't the point, the point was that she was _smiling_(kind of) and it wasn't really forced (much). "Thanks for breakfast, Dinky." Hermione told the now apprehensive elf, "I will most definitely be talking with you again."

As she was walking out, Hermione noticed that many of the other elves had swarmed around Dinky and were shooting questions at her. _This is going to be interesting,_Hermione thought to herself.

As Hermione was heading up to the library she passed the corridor with the Roman soldiers, they were still well and alive, or as alive as a half-size, poltergeist-conjured soldier could be, and standing at attention. Hermione didn't know exactly what they were charmed to do so she decided that the library would still be there this afternoon and hid in a secret passage that no one else knew about - take _that_Marauders - waiting for some poor student to come around the corner. A small, unsuspecting Ravenclaw wandered down the hall with her nose buried in a book, not noticing anything going on around her. It wasn't until the Roman soldiers cried a war cry and ran at her that she finally realised they were there; with a scream she dropped the book and raced around the corner. Professor McGonagall hurried towards the source of the scream and stopped dead when she saw the soldiers.

"I swear, those Marauders will give someone a heart attack one of these days! Seriously, _when _are they going to graduate?" She muttered as she pulled her wand out. However, when she tried to vanish the soldiers, they just multiplied and grew a few centimetres. When she tried shrinking them, they grew again. Twenty minutes later, McGonagall, Flitwick, Dumbledore and a whole horde of students were standing in the hallway facing one hundred full-size Roman soldiers. When they were covered in scratches, bruises and a few burns, the professors just gave up and roped the hall off, shooing the students off to breakfast and mumbling about smart-ass students with too much imagination.

Hermione just snorted from her hiding place, the _students _hadn't even started yet...

Hermione holed up in the library until eight, at which point she headed down to the Great Hall to collect her schedule and convince the others that she wasn't dead. Any other person would have quailed under the four glares currently being directed at her but Hermione just shrugged; James, Lily, Sirius and Remus had nothing on Snape, Molly, Ginny or Voldemort.

"Good morning." She said stoically as she sat down down between James and Sirius. There was a momentary pause and then;

"Hermione Jean Granger, where the _hell _have you been?" Silence filled the hall as Lily's voice echoed around it. Heads turned to try and see what the new girl had done to earn the wrath of their Head Girl so soon in the year, and so vocally. James and Sirius looked rather shocked at Lily's reaction but couldn't utter a word, Remus on the other hand, chuckled.

"Hermione, you certainly know how to make everyone worry their heads off." Then Remus threw Lily an amused glance, "To reiterate the previous question, albeit a little quieter, where were you this morning? We were more than a bit concerned."

"Oh," Hermione said. "I went exploring and then hung out at the library for a while." She mock-frowned and looked around, "Sorry?"

"Damn! I like you!" Sirius grinned and smacked Hermione on the back. This had an unexpected result; he found himself flipped over the bench and in a full body-bind on the floor in a split-second, unable to make a sound, his wand in Hermione's hand.

Hermione blinked, realized what she had done and immediately reversed it all. "Sorry guys, reflexes..."

Sirius put his hands up in mock-surrender, "Correction, I love you, and you are my new best friend!"

Hermione was extremely confused, she had just infuriated his best friend's love-interest and then effectively incapacitated him. "Um, _why?_"

"Cause you have a few qualities I greatly admire in a person!"

"Oh, do enlighten me." She deadpanned.

"You can keep your cool under some vicious glares, make Lily blow her top – quite spectacularly if I do say so - and can catch me unawares!" Sirius grinned again, like a madman.

"Okay," Hermione said with a frown,, "You're going to have to explain that last one to me. I really don't understand how flipping you over a bench and putting you in a body-bind is something you would _appreciate_."

"It's just cool!" Then he slowly, and very obviously, swung his arm around Hermione's shoulders. "Therefore, new best friend!"

James pretended to pout. "But I'm your best friend!"

"Yeah, yeah, yeah, sure. Whatever." Then Sirius proceeded to give James a nuggie from across the table.

Everyone burst out laughing except Hermione who was just glad that the attention was off her rather violent reaction to a friendly gesture.

About halfway through breakfast, McGonagall came by passing out their schedules. Almost as soon as Hermione had read hers it was snatched by Lily, whose own was taken by James, whose was grabbed by Remus, whose was violently ripped away by Sirius, who all but threw his at Peter, who carefully handed his to Hermione with a small smile.

"Sorry," He said tentatively, obviously nervous around Hermione due to her reaction to him the night before. "It's kind of a tradition, we all want to know who is in which class. We want to be in class with each other. It's a bonus if we get one with Remus or Lily because they can help with the hard stuff."

"Okay..." Hermione said. "That's a little odd."

"Why?" Asked Peter, "Wouldn't you want to have someone really smart around to help you?"

"Oh, um." Hermione felt a little awkward; she was the one people came to for help. Or at least she _was_, when they were still in school.

"You're another smart one, aren't you?" Peter asked sullenly. "Don't worry, it's okay. I'm used to being the stupid one."

Hermione frowned, here was one of the main reasons Peter turned to Voldemort, he was overshadowed by the others and wanted power; no matter how much she might despise the future him, this wasn't the same person. This Peter had a chance to not go bad, here was her first chance to change things. She took a deep breath and turned to face him. He must have noticed her change in countenance because he went silent and abandoned his food (a feat in and of itself).

"Peter," She said very seriously.

"Um, yeah?" He looked like someone who was about to hear their death sentence.

"I want to talk to you."

By this time Sirius and Remus had noticed that Hermione was talking with Peter and that he looked rather terrified (James was busy staring at Lily so he didn't see).

"Unless I'm blind I think you're talking with him right now." Sirius pointed out rather rudely.

"Sirius." Hermione said sharply, "This doesn't concern you at all so butt out." The look in her eyes clearly stated 'If you continue to bother me, your remains will fit in a teacup.' The change was so dramatic and so quick that Sirius flinched back (something he hardly _ever _did).

"Woah." James said, finally paying attention to what was going on. "What's up with you?"

"Nothing." Hermione sighed, "Sorry." She took a moment to remind herself that not everyone was out to get her in this time. "I just need to talk to Peter." She turned to the kid in question, "Will you please meet me outside the Great Hall before lunch?"

Peter glanced around nervously. "Um...okay..."

With that, breakfast continued. Peter was silent and Hermione was her normal stoic self. Everyone else was hoping against hope that Hermione wasn't planning on dissecting Peter, or something else equally repulsive.

Just as breakfast was coming to an end, Dumbledore stood up.

"Attention students, I am sorry to say that the east end of the fourth floor corridor is off limits for the foreseeable future. If anyone has any information as to the cause of this disturbance I encourage them to come forward now. Thank you."

Needless to say, throughout the day many people - students and teachers alike - could be found at the end of the roped off corridor watching the Roman Army set up. By lunch time they had a little tent city...

Most of their classes were the epitome of boring for Hermione who probably knew more than most of the professors teaching them. The only class which was even remotely interesting was potions because Slughorn had decided that her encouragement potion was perfect and that she would make an excellent addition to his Slug Club. She disagreed and they had danced a little word dance which ended with Slughorn looking like the narcissistic idiot that he was. The rest of the class thought it was hilarious and their good old potions professor took a few minutes to catch up and figure out what exactly had happened; when he did, his face was a beautiful shade of magenta which clashed horribly with his lime green brocade vest.

By the time lunch came around, Hermione was more than ready to do something productive, hopefully her meeting with Peter would be just that, productive. When Hermione approached Peter she realized she probably could have been a bit nicer that morning, the poor kid was trembling; she would have felt bad except for the fact that he had been a traitor and a killer. He might not have done anything yet, in this time line, but that didn't mean she couldn't exact some retribution.

"H-Her-Hermione." Peter chocked out.

"Woah, Peter, calm down." Hermione said, patting him on the shoulder a bit. "I'm not going to eat you."

"I'm okay." He didn't sound very okay but that wasn't really the point. "I'm just a bit nervous."

"Right. Well, now you're coming with me." Hermione wished she had a camera to capture the expression on Peter's face, it was hilarious. She dragged him into an empty classroom and shut the door sealing it and the room with no less than ten secrecy charms and spells, this did nothing to help Peter's nerves.

"Now, first things first." Hermione said as she grabbed Peter's left arm and pushed up the sleeve, revealing completely clean skin, no ugly snake skull tattoo. "Good. That's good. I'm not too late."

Peter jumped back as if he had been punched. _How does she know? _Kept running through his thoughts.

"How?" He stuttered.

"How did I know?" Hermione asked him. Peter just nodded mutely. "That's for me, myself, and I to know, and you to wonder about for a bit."

Now Peter was worried, what exactly does she know? _Does she know about Wormtail? About Snape? About his jealously? What does she know?_The questions flew around his head. "How much do you know?" He asked.

"For now, just assume I know everything. It will make this a whole lot easier." Hermione sat down on a near desk and talked with Peter. She basically played the role of a counselor. She helped him identify his troubles, helped him find the reason behind them, which was the fact that he wasn't as smart as Remus, James and Sirius. This made him feel stupid and useless which was in the process of making him look for another place to do something, namely, Voldemort. They then talked about what Peter could do and study that would be good for _him_, something that he could do with his talents. It was obvious from his marks and temperament that being an auror like James and Sirius just wasn't going to happen. They decided on something simple, he was going to complete his general education and then look into some sort of service job, he really liked the idea of working at the Leaky Cauldron or somewhere similar. He did like being 'in the know', and working in a pub would definitely allow for that. And it was a great alternative to working for Voldemort...

Finally, Hermione addressed the problem of Peter trying to gain and/or keep the approval of everyone by agreeing with everything James and Sirius did and said. She told him that people would respect him more and view him as an actual person if he formed and expressed his _own_ opinions. It was a good thing neither of them had a class directly after lunch because they would have ended up missing it.

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><p>Author's note: There are two types of R&amp;R associated with fanfiction; rest &amp; relaxation, and read &amp; review. I hope the story offered you the former and I hope you do the latter. Thanks!<p> 


	14. Charmed Parchment

**Preventing the Future**

**Chapter Fourteen - Charmed Parchment**

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><p>Disclaimer: fanfiction; fiction by a fan. I'm just a fan.<p>

Author's note: Sorry for the short chapter, the next will be longer, promise. Enjoy!

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><p>"What do you think they're talking about?" James asked Sirius about halfway through Muggle Studies (Lily had convinced James to take it and he in turn had coerced Sirius into joining him), neither Peter nor Hermione were in that class though, so it provided the perfect opportunity to speculate and gossip about them.<p>

"I don't have a clue." Sirius said worriedly, Hermione's reaction to Peter at the feast the night before had been less than nice, to say the least. "I hope Peter is okay, she kinda scares me and he looked down right terrified..."

James looked at Sirius in mock disbelief, "Someone scares you? I didn't even know that was possible! And a girl at that!"

"Actually, I'm not kidding, she freaks me out. Amazingly hot, great girl, but something about her eyes and how she works that wand...It's unsettling."

They had to stop their conversation because their professor got tired of telling them to shut up and took 20 points from Gryffindor – the first deduction of the year. However, they continued as soon as they met up with Remus and Lily on the way to Transfiguration.

"Sirius and I were talking - " James started.

"That never ends well." Lily muttered to Remus, then she turned to James, "I'm going to go now, the last thing I want is to be privy to another one of your conversations - your thoughts disturb me at times."

"Wait." Sirius whisper-yelled as he grabbed her elbow to stop her from leaving (he let go as soon as he saw the glare directed at him). "Sorry, but I think this concerns you too."

Lily looked from Sirius to James, their faces were, for once, completely serious. That was enough for her to be interested. "Okay, what's up?"

"We're worried about the new girl." James said.

"Hermione?"

"Yeah, she's still talking with Peter and after the way she treated him at the feast, and the way she snapped at me earlier well...we're worried." Sirius said.

Remus nodded, "I know exactly what you're talking about, there's something about her that's just not quite right."

_Oh shit!_ Thought Lily, _Why are they observant at all the wrong times? Quick Lily, think of something, lie! Damn, I can't lie, they'll be able to tell I know something...Maybe they'll just leave it be until she decides to tell them herself..._ She mentally laughed, _That will never happen_. _Oh well, I have to say _something.

"Um...yeah...I guess she is a bit odd." Lily said lamely.

Remus gave her a hard stare, "You know something." He said simply.

"No I don't! Why would I know something?"

"Lily, you're a terrible liar." James said. "Now spill."

Lily brought her head up defiantly, "I'm not telling you boys anything. It's her story to tell."

Unfortunately for the boys Hermione and Peter had been just around the corner when James had told Lily to 'spill', Hermione was proud of Lily and grateful that she knew how to keep a secret properly, even if she couldn't lie to save her life.

Peter looked at Hermione, he had no idea how she knew the things she did but he didn't really care; she had helped him stop making the biggest mistake of his life and for that he was extremely grateful. He didn't mind that she was tight-lipped about herself, he figured that she would tell them eventually.

Hermione raised her eyebrows at Peter who smiled, then they walked to the door and intercepted the boys and Lily as they were making their way in.

"Hello guys." Hermione said with a way-too-innocent voice.

"Oh, hi Hermione." Sirius said rather nervously, _How much did she hear? Oh good, Peter is still alive, whew!_

"I'm glad that you all are nice and observant, it's a good life skill. A little too observant for my liking right now, but that's what made you good at what you did." Hermione said mysteriously. "Lily, thanks for not telling, I appreciate it."

Lily smiled at her, "Well, it was the truth, it's your story to tell and anyway, it's not like I know _that _much."

"True, but thanks anyway. Oh look, there's the bell, better go, McGonagall won't go easy on us just because we're in Gryffindor." Hermione took great pleasure at seeing the shocked expressions on everyone's faces; it's not everyday the new girl knows which professors not to keep waiting.

Transfiguration was boring, Hermione knew everything and performed it all to perfection. She could tell that Lily was jealous but could also tell that she knew it was because Hermione had studied it all before, not to mention the fact that she was a year older. So, for all intents and purposes, Lily was still top of the class.

Throughout the class, James and Sirius managed to land themselves in detention because they continued to speculate on the new girl. However, they really didn't seem to mind because they had managed to break their previous record by a whole day; last year it had taken them until second period on the _second _day to get detention.

Hermione found this highly amusing and charmed Lily's parchment to be able to send and receive notes. Lily had had a mini freak-out session when her carefully written notes faded away and were replaced be Hermione's handwriting. She only settled down after looking at Hermione who just shrugged and continued pretending to take notes. Because the class was mostly review and Hermione assured Lily (via the parchment) that she would help with the work later, she convinced her to have a chat for the rest of class.

(A/N: _**Bold italics are Lily**_ and _regular italics are Hermione._)

_**Just to let you know,**_ Lily wrote, _**You're driving the boys crazy, even Remus can't concentrate.**_

_I know, _Hermione responded, _But it's kinda fun, and I haven't had that in ages!_

_**Well, like I said last night, the future, past, whatever, must have sucked.**_

_Yup, I've been fighting since I was 14._

_**But you can take a break now, right?  
><strong>_  
><em>Kinda, I still have to fix some stuff right now but things don't get really bad till this summer, so I do have a bit of time to relax.<em>

Just then, the boys got detention for something random and Lily wrote;

_**You're going to have to tell them something or they'll start using their imaginations...which will not end well.**_

_True, they probably think I'm a secret spy for Voldy Pants and his munchies, or something more ridiculous._

Lily had a hard time not laughing at 'Voldy Pants and his munchies' but restrained herself. _**Probably more ridiculous, they don't do anything halfway, even suppositions.**_

_I'll tell them eventually, I just need time to figure it all out. Telling you is one thing, you aren't completely connected to them. I have to explain it to them as if they are one big messed up person, not four individuals. But I will tell them soon, or when they get too close to the truth. _

_**Nice, can I be there too? I want to see their faces!**_

_Sure, I think I'll just do a cover story for now though, then when I figure out how to tell them the truth I will do so. I will tell them in the Room of Requirement tonight and tell them the story I told Dumbledore and the other professors. That doesn't give them much time to come up with ridiculous alternatives._

_**Wait, what's the 'Room of Requirement'? I've never heard of it before.**_

_It's also known as the Come and Go Room, never mind, you will see it tonight. If I leave it any later and they would figure something out, and it would probably be close enough to the truth to be dangerous, or far enough from it to be dangerous as well. I mean, it's not like you can keep much from __the Marauders for long._

_**The **_**Marauders!** _**They, are the Marauders?**_

_Um, yeah... Whoops._

_**No! I mean, I kinda thought it might be James and Sirius but there are four Marauders and I just can't see Remus and Peter joining in on that sort of stuff. Anyway, those two are so pigheaded that they would want to take credit for whatever they did, the Marauders just sign with code names. And James and Sirius are always pulling little gags in class and getting in trouble, the Marauders **_**never**_** get in trouble...**__** I can't believe you know! Well, actually it's not that surprising, you know everything. And now I know too!  
><strong>_

_Now that you know they are the Marauders, we could have some fun!_

_**Okay, I've got a quick question. How do they manage to NEVER get caught? I mean, they are never even implicated! No one ever sees them out around after curfew or anything!**  
><em>

_****Well, they REALLY won't like me telling you this but I don't care; they made this map, it's a map of the school that they charmed to show every single person in the castle. Everyone is shown as a little dot with their name on it. It's quite ingenious. I have their copy from the future, obviously mine is cooler, it's been expanded and improved, but they still have theirs now. It got confiscated by Filch last year but they stole it back within the week. If I remember correctly they manage to get caught with it again right at the end of this year. They were pretty pissed about that, they didn't have time to get it back...  
><em>

_**Wow, that's amazing. You'll have to show it to me sometime.**  
><em>

_Oh I will, now, how do you feel about returning six years of favours?  
><em>

_**Favours? Oh, you mean pranks. Yes, I would love to help get back at the famous Marauders for everything they've done over the years. Just as long as no one, not even them, know it's us.**_

_Wow Lily, I never knew you had a vengeful streak!_

_**I thought you knew everything about us.**_

_Well, um, no. I don't have all the details about some of you._

_**What do you mean, 'some of you'? Hermione, what exactly happened to me?**_

_It doesn't really matter right now, it's not like it's the future anymore, it's all in the past._

_**It has something to do with Peter, doesn't it?**_

_Don't ask about Peter, really, just don't._

_**Okay then, moving on. What happened to me?**_

_Are you sure you want to know?_

_**That bad, eh? Yes, I do.**_

_You asked for it. As you know, everyone was dead or worse when I was sent back._

_**Yeah...**_

_Well, like I said last night, there were two risings of good 'ol Voldy, you were among those who died the first time around, which was before I was even born. That's why I don't know as much about you._

_**Oh.**_

_Sorry._

_**No worries, I did ask. You were just a bit blunt.**_

_Yeah, subtly in conversation has never been my strong suit. Not really a skill a fighter needs, talking isn't exactly a requirement._

_**It's okay, it explains why you don't know much about me. Now, I would continue my little interrogation but it seems that class is finishing up.**_

_So it is._

_**I hope you weren't lying when you said you knew how to teach this stuff.**_

_I wasn't. After dinner we can go to the Heads' common room and I will show you. Anyway, I _have _been taking notes._

_**How on earth have you been doing that?**_

_Dictator quill, _Hermione wrote and then pointed to her lap, sure enough, there was a piece of parchment perched on a thick book with a jet black quill scribbling away. It was currently copying their homework in perfect shorthand in Hermione's writing.

_**I want one. No, seriously I do. Head girl or not I want my notes taken for me...that way I could pay more attention to the teacher...or have informative conversations with a certain witch from the future.**_

_I'll make you one, they're dead useful; anyway, it's really just a modified quick-quotes quill._

_**A what?**_

_Never mind, it's time to go. _

With that, their parchments went blank and rolled themselves up.

Lily looked over at Hermione, "Why'd you do that?"

Hermione shrugged, "To get rid of the evidence."

"Oh, good thinking." Lily responded as they walked over to the boys and made their way down to dinner.

"So boys," Hermione said as they entered the Great Hall. "How would you like to hear a story?"

Remus looked interested, James curious, Sirius suspicious and Peter just looked happier than he had since he achieved his Animagus transformation.

"I'll take that as a yes. Meet me and Lily in the common room at midnight and I'll explain everything; well, not _everything, _but close enough."

The boys all looked extremely interested now and most of them wanted to just drag her into an empty classroom and force the information out of her, but by the time they finished that thought, Hermione and Lily had already left.

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><p>Author's note: Another chapter! Review please! I only have about a quarter of the next chapter finished so I'm going to need the extra motivation, especially because another story idea started bugging me a few days ago and I had to do something about it, you can find it on my profile. But yeah, reviews are nice!<p> 


	15. Explanations

**Preventing the Future**

**Chapter Fifteen – Explanations**

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><p>Disclaimer: These are getting annoying. These character's aren't mine, neither is the world (this one or the real one).<p>

Author's note: Well guys, welcome to my longest chapter yet, I'm actually quite proud of it. I was on a roll and then couldn't decide where to cut it to make two chapters so I didn't. Personally, as a reader, I _love_ long chapters, so hopefully you will too. Enjoy!

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><p>The boys were trying their hardest to wait patiently for curfew to come but, like most teenage boys, they just didn't have it in them. So, they decided that it was time for the Marauders to make their debut, it was their last year and they couldn't believe that they hadn't started yet. They didn't want to get out of practice. However, with their minds so firmly focused on Hermione and her mystery, they didn't have time to come up with something elaborate.<p>

Sirius snuck a glance at Lily and Hermione, but they were engrossed in some conversation about some dude called Seazur (Caesar, as in the Roman dude) so he gave the all clear for the placement of semi-silencing spells. Their reasoning was that if the girls were busy they wouldn't notice that they couldn't make out what the boys were saying. Hermione noticed, but knew what they were doing she she let it go.

"Okay guys, I know we all want to know what's up with the new girl but we've been abandoning our sacred duty." James said.

"Yes, my dear comrades, the time has come to reclaim our positions, we can't let the creators of those soldiers get the better of us!" Sirius said emphatically.

"I wonder who did that." Remus said thoughtfully, "Even out best efforts don't hold up to Dumbledore, Flitwick and McGonagall when they work together. If I didn't know better, I'd say it was some new brand of magic..."

"Yeah, well, that's not the point, is it?" Sirius asked. "The point is we need to come up with something quick and easy, now."

They all looked thoughtful for a moment before, to the eternal astonishment of everyone, including himself, Peter spoke up. "Why don't we make the whole hall talk like animals for the rest of dinner?" When he saw them all looking at him he shrugged, "You guys always say I sound hilarious as a rat so I thought it would be funny."

James engulfed Peter in a hug. "I don't know what happened today but you're amazing!"

Sirius frowned, "Yeah, great idea, but we don't know the spell and the food's already been served."

Remus grinned. "See, I decided that we needed to make this year special so I did a bit of reading over the summer." The others looked at him and rolled their eyes.

"Why does that not surprise me?" Sirius asked.

"Well, I wasn't trying to surprise you. I was just going to tell you that I know the perfect spell, but it'll take both James and Sirius to cast it."

The looks on the Marauders' faces were priceless, and would have been slightly disturbing, if anyone had been paying attention. Five minutes later the great hall sounded like a cross between a chaotic farmyard and a magical menagerie.

James looked at Lily as she moved her fingers around in a weird way while facing Hermione. Much to his, and the rest of the hall's surprise, Hermione just grinned and did the same. Lily burst out laughing (an animal laugh, of course) and the two of them continued to wave their hands around.

(A/N: '….' is sign language. I know that the grammar and sentence structure of International Sign Language is different from regular English but I don't know exactly how, so I won't even attempt to make it accurate.)

Lily immediately noticed the change of tone in the hall and then remembered something she had learned in primary school, seeing as Hermione was Muggleborn too she tried something.

'My friend, do you know sign language?' Lily asked with her hands.

'Oh, this is going to be interesting. Look at their faces.' Hermione signed back.

Lily grinned. 'Just think of the potential! This is going to drive them crazy, they are all pure or half blood, they probably don't even know what sign language _is_.'

'Yeah, I mean, this is a magic world, they can fix things like deafness.' Hermione responded as her brain came up with more and more interesting things they could do with this.

'Okay, I say we continue this until they lift the spell. If they talk without doing it, they will give themselves away, I give them five minutes tops before they succumb to the need for interrogation.' Lily signed.

Hermione reached with her magic and felt the boys' frustration then signed, '_Five _minutes? I give them three.' Then she conjured a tiny stop watch that only they could see.

Exactly two minutes and fifty nine seconds later the hall was back to normal. Hermione spent that time discussing the difference between a Quick Quotes Quill (they had to substitute the word 'pen' but the idea was the same) and her Dictator Quill. Needless to say, they gave the impression of having a very serious conversation which drove the boys nuts.

"What the hell were you guys doing?" James nearly yelled at them.

"Us?" Lily asked innocently, "We were having a lovely conversation."

Remus gaped, "But everyone sounded like _animals_! All you were doing was waving your hands around like lunatics!" Despite his high level of intelligence, Remus was still a bit too used to the Wizarding World.

"I'm lost." Peter said.

"Me too." Sirius admitted. "And that's an accomplishment on their part."

Hermione rolled her eyes at Lily, then signed 'Should we tell them, or make them suffer for a while?'

'You're mean, you know that? I think if we don't tell them James is going to have a mental breakdown and as amusing as that is, we kinda need our Head Boy.' Lily responded.

"Okay." Hermione said. "That's what called Sign Language, International Sign Language to be precise."

"There more than one kind of hand waving communication?" Sirius asked incredulously.

"What's sign language?" Peter asked.

Lily decided to take pity on the ignorant wizard boys. "Sign language is what deaf people – people who can't hear – use to communicate. And yes, there are a few different types. Now, I believe that dinner has finished." She turned to Hermione, "Shall we?" She asked offering her hand.

Hermione quickly transfigured her hair and clothes to resemble that of a Renaissance prince and Lily's to that of a princess, "Of course, my fair lady." She said while standing up, then, with a kiss of Lily's hand and an exaggerated bow, Hermione offered her arm and they walked out of the hall to the utter shock of the boys (and most of the student population).

As soon as Lily and Hermione reached the stairs, Lily laughed so hard she cried and even Hermione looked amused as she changed their clothes back. On their way back to the Gryffindor tower, Lily showed Hermione the Head's common room where Hermione fulfilled her promise from transfiguration. It only took 5 seconds to make a copy of the notes for Lily and only another 15 minutes for Lily to master the spells, it was made easier by the fact that they were mostly review spells. Hermione showed Lily how to charm the quill to take notes in whatever note form she preferred and before either of them knew it, it was 11:55 and they were standing in the Gryffindor common room waiting for the boys to reappear.

Apparently they had been having a bit of an argument because when they came down from their dorm Sirius and James looked extremely annoyed, Remus looked frustrated and Peter was smiling smugly.

"Okay," James said, taking charge. "We want to know who you are. Peter won't tell us _anything!" _He glared at the previously timid boy who tipped his chin up defiantly and smiled brightly at Hermione; it was obvious that he was proud of the fact that he could now stand up to the others.

"Yeah, and how you knew about McGonagall." Remus said.

"And what you did to Peter, he looks like he's had ten too many cheering charms and a confidence booster." Sirius added. This caused Peter to go pink.

"Hey!" He cried, "I'm just really really happy, okay? She's been nothing but nice to me."

"Sure." Said Sirius sarcastically, "That's why she gave you the death glare at the feast."

"Be quiet guys." Said Lily, effectively shutting them up. "Now, Hermione, the floor is yours."

"Thanks Lily. Now, as you noticed earlier, I've not been entirely truthful with you guys."

"Yeah, we figured that out." James said.

"Just let her talk, alright?" Remus said, annoyed. He wanted to know what was up with this strange girl who seemed too comfortable in Hogwarts to be a simple home schooled new girl.

"Well, I'm not telling you here so let's go. I know of a room you will love." With that, Hermione led the way out of the common room and headed to the 7th floor corridor. She walked past the blank wall three times much to the amusement of her companions, even Lily. However, when the door appeared, the smiles were quickly dropped and replaced with dropped jaws and wide eyes.

"Welcome, my fellow Gryffindors, to the Room of Requirement!" Hermione said dramatically as they walked into a very close replica of the Gryffindor common room.

"Woah!" Sirius said, "This is exactly like the common room!"

"Well, not quite." Remus commented, "There aren't as many chairs and those ones are clustered closer together and nearer to the fireplace..."

"Of course they are, that's where I wanted them to be." Hermione said smugly as the boys and Lily looked at her in complete confusion. As she explained what exactly the room did they became more and more excited. But Remus frowned.

"This is great but _how _do you know all this?"

"Ah, and we get to the reason for tonight's gathering." Hermione said sitting up straight in her chair. "I'm actually from the future, that's why I know everything. Okay, I don't know _everything_, but I know a shit ton more than you guys."

"Ha ha, very funny. Now stop teasing us." James said, putting his hands on his hips in a rather feminine way.

"Yeah, we're not idiots you know." Remus said with a frown.

The two of them started discounting the idea of time travel between themselves.

Peter just sat on the couch looking bored. It made sense. And Hermione and Lily looked at them in amusement, which Sirius noticed.

"Um, guys. I don't think she's joking." Sirius said quietly.

James and Remus shut up and whipped their heads around to Sirius, since when had he been observant? "What?" They asked in unison.

"I think she's telling the truth." Sirius said a bit louder.

"But how is that even possible?" Remus asked, "That shouldn't be possible, it can't be!"

"Well, it is." Hermione said as she plopped onto the floor next to the fire. "Now, would you like to know what I'm doing here?"

There was a chorus of "Yes!" As they all found a place to sit.

"Okay, first things first, oaths."

"Oaths?" Sirius asked, "That's a bit extreme don't you think?" He and James were the only two in the room – besides Hermione – who knew the seriousness of an oath.

Hermione scowled, "You swear, or you leave with a modified memory, take your pick."

The two boys exchanged a glance, there was no doubt that she would follow through on her threat, so they decided to stay. Anyway, if it was serious enough to need an oath then it would definitely be interesting. "Okay." James said. "We'll swear."

"Good. Now, take out your wands – you too Lily – and repeat after me. 'I (put your full name in here) swear on my life and magic that anything I learn in the Room of Requirement tonight, and anything pertaining to it in the future, will only be discussed in a secure location and only with those people here tonight. So mote it be.' Go in a circle starting with you, Peter."

After each oath there was a swirl of magic as it took hold, when they were all done, they felt as if they had all joined a secret society or something, which they had.

"Oh, and you probably want one from me too. I, Hermione Jean Granger, swear on my life and magic, that all I say tonight is the truth. I also swear that anything I learn in the Room of Requirement tonight, and anything pertaining to it in the future, will only be discussed in a secure location and only with those people here tonight. So mote it be." The swirl of light around Hermione was rather impressive and multicoloured, but she wasn't phased. "Sorry about that, my oaths tend to be rather dramatic."

"No shit." Said Lily.

James gasped, "Holy Merlin's flying pointy hat, Lily swore!" Lily just hit him.

"Well guys, welcome to the exclusive club of those who know what the future was. As you know, but weren't too quick to believe, I'm from the future, the year 1998 to be precise. I'm 18 years old, or negative two if you want to think of it that way...Anyway, Voldemort rose, fell, then rose again, things got shitty, earth went to hell - literally - and the universe sent me back to fix it."

There was complete silence.

"If you hadn't taken that oath I would have called the mental ward at Mungo's right now." Remus said once he regained his composure.

"Well, that's why I took the oath. Now, first I'll that you the official story for me being here, the one the headmaster and all the professors know. My parents used to work in the Department of Mysteries, so officially they don't exist and I studied and worked with them until they died in a freak accident which was top-secret mystery stuff. They had told me all sorts of interesting stories about Hogwarts so when they died I wanted to come here to feel more connected to them. Apparently no one had me on record because my parents were paranoid, something about a ministry conspiracy, they were odd but hey, Unspeakables are allowed to be odd. That's the official story. Now, the reality is that I'm going to change the future.

"Because the universe itself sent me here to change things, you can throw all your preconceived notions about time travel rules out the proverbial window because they don't apply to me. I have brought you all in on this because you guys were key players and because I trust you." Hermione carefully didn't look at Peter and he had the grace to look ashamed, not that anyone noticed. "Originally I told Dumbledore but then I realised he just wanted me to tell him everything and then push me to the side. No offense to him, but that's just not how I work. Anyway, he has a school to run, and international wizards to play with. You guys are smart and deserve the chance to help. Now, there are some things I can't tell you because they are personal and/or already changed for the better but I will tell you as much as I can. I also don't feel like re-living parts of the future and because they aren't relevant to changing things now. There's stuff that happened that I haven't come to grips with yet and stuff I'm not dumping on your relatively innocent minds. But I promise that what I do tell you, will be the truth. I need you to understand that the future I'm about to tell you about _will not _come to pass, I know this because I have already changed some things." Peter shifted again, but no one except Hermione noticed. "Now, in order for you to understand what happened and what we – yes 'we', you guys are in this now – should do, I need to tell you a story about a boy named Tom Riddle."

Two hours later, Hermione had finished telling them all about how Tom became Voldemort, everything from his Muggle father to the living Horcrux in Harry (she didn't name him for obvious reasons). The boys and Lily were so engrossed in the story that they didn't seem to notice the time, and when Hermione told them that she'd continue tomorrow, she had to remind them that it was past two and they had class in the morning. With much grumbling they headed back to the tower, for once wishing they wouldn't need the few hours of restless sleep they were sure to get. They just wanted the rest of the story, Hermione was so good at balancing the whats, whys and hows that they felt they understood exactly what she was saying, even if they knew she had to leave bits out.

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><p>When the girls finally made it up to their dorm Lily bee-lined for the bathroom to change but Hermione really couldn't care less, years of living with guys will do that to you. Lily walked out of the bathroom dressed for bed and tapped Hermione on the shoulder, all Lily wanted to do was talk so she was very surprised when she found herself lying on the ground, stiff as a board and tightly bound and gagged with glowing blue cords, her wand in Hermione's hand.<p>

Hermione blinked and snapped out of it. "Oh my good Merlin! I'm so sorry!" She immediately performed the series of counter curses then levitated Lily carefully onto her bed where she lay blinking and trying to process what had happened. The entire thing had taken maybe five seconds and Hermione hadn't said anything or used her wand.

"Holy Merlin's shit!" Lily swore, something she never did. "What on earth was that?"

"I'm so so so sorry, I didn't mean to, it's just a reflex." Hermione wrung her hands.

"A reflex?" Lily asked, "That's one hell of a reflex. How did you learn to do that?"

"Oh, um." Hermione was a bit shocked that she had bound and nearly cursed her new friend and roommate. "Well, um, the future was pretty bad. Um, the wars, well, I'm just a bit jumpy. Especially when they take me by surprise. It's a survival thing."

"Wow, you weren't kidding when you said the future sucked." Lily said as they climbed into bed.

Hermione thought for a moment, she felt that she needed to tell someone about Peter, so someone other than her would be looking out for him and making sure he stayed on the right track. She knew that telling the boys would be disastrous so she decided on Lily.

"Hey Lily?"

"Yeah?"

"Could I come over there for a moment? I have some more stuff I want to tell you." Hermione said quietly, so as not to wake their roommates.

"Sure, come on." Lily responded, curious as to what Hermione wanted to tell her that she couldn't tell the boys.

Hermione grabbed her pillow and hurried over to Lily's bed, she propped her self up at the foot of the bed and placed extremely strong silencing charms all around them.

"Okay." Hermione started. "You know how earlier I told you not to ask about Peter?"

"Yeah." Lily said, really not liking where this was going.

"Well, the reason I talked with him was because he became a Death Eater." Lily gasped. "I know. I mean, I've known it from when I was 13 so it doesn't seem that surprising, especially because I know the reasons behind it, but looking at him now, you'd never in a million years guess it."

"But _why_?" Lily asked. "He's always such a quiet boy and he hangs around with the others, he's usually smiling and laughing with them. I don't get it."

"That's the thing, he's part of their group, but he's on the outside. Think about it, he is the butt of many of their jokes, he's not really that smart, he's picked on by a lot of people, he's not very well-liked by the school, he can't see a future past the end of school but most of all, he just doesn't fit. James and Sirius are both going off to be Aurors and Remus is smart enough to get any job he wants, well, if anyone would hire him. But that's not the point, the point is, as soon as school's out, he's done. All his friends are going to move into society and he's going to be left alone. He's not really a bad person he just wants power and recognition, something Voldemort offers in abundance, even if he doesn't deliver."

Lily frowned, what really bothered her was that Hermione was right, no one noticed Peter unless he was with the other boys. Even _she _didn't pay attention to the boy. It all made sense, but that didn't mean she had to like it. "Okay. So he became a Death Eater, did he do anything really bad?"

It was Hermione's turn to frown, an all too common expression for her. _How much should I tell her? I know I'm not going to tell about the Secret Keeper business but should I mention the betrayal? Well, she does have a right to know, right?_"Um, his resentment towards the others got to the point where he sold you guys out to Voldemort, with disastrous results. But that's not going to happen this time."

Lily was silent for a minute. "Why are you telling me? I mean, I'm not complaining, I'm honoured, but why me? Why did I need to know this?"

"Because you're important, and responsible. And I don't think you will hold it against him, you seem to understand that my past isn't the future anymore, it's gone, obliterated. I would tell the boys but they are still too rash and immature, they either wouldn't talk to him again, which would probably lead to similar results as before, or they would never let him out of their sight, which would make it impossible for Peter to grow into his own person and again, once they all get jobs, he might go off anyway. I mean, the possibility is still there, it's a self-esteem issue and those aren't fixed easily."

"That I have to agree with. But how do you know I can handle it?" Lily asked.

"Because you're responsible, mature, and understand that people can change, for better or worse. I also need someone to help me keep an eye out for him, to make sure he stays on the right track. I can't be everywhere at once and I don't want it to seem like I'm only being nice to him because I don't want him to go bad." Hermione said confidently, she hadn't known Lily that long but her instinct was to trust her, and Hermione's instincts were hardly _ever _wrong.

Lily laughed, "So, no pressure right?"

"Nope, none at all." Hermione said with an amused tone in her voice, this amusement thing was happening more and more often. She had also been able to force the semblance of a smile onto her face, find herself pleased, amused, proud, mischievous, and almost...happy. A bit of guilt settled into the pit of her stomach; here she was, making friends with the parents of her dead best friend and telling his mother to try and help her very own betrayer. _But it's worth it, right?_ She asked herself. _It will work out in the end, it has to. Anyway, I can't do everything myself, I have to trust people again, Lily and the boys seem like a good place to start, and I know Lily will help. I don't know how I know, I just do. I hope I haven't just made a big mistake..._Hermione pulled herself from her thoughts and said goodnight to Lily, reminding her to try and act normal around Peter.

"I know it will be hard." Hermione said, "But please try not to treat Peter too differently. It shouldn't be that hard because you two don't spend a lot of time together but I don't want him to feel too awkward."

"Okay." Lily said with a small smile. "I'll do my best."

"Thanks." Then Hermione left Lily to her thoughts and returned to her bed.

As Hermione lay in bed, her guilt turned to sadness and she felt her chest squeeze tightly, she wished, yet again, that she had tears left to cry. But she didn't and anyway, this wasn't something that could be helped by tears, or anything else.

Lily lay awake, she couldn't stop thinking about what Hermione had said; Peter had betrayed his friends, and Hermione had stopped him. Now, Hermione wanted her to help keep Peter on the side of the light, or at least neutral. Well, the future sounded shitty and Lily knew that Hermione was trusting her to help fix it. Lily vowed to do her best. But she couldn't help but wonder how exactly Peter had betrayed them and what happened because of it, Hermione seemed to think it was important enough to change but then, maybe Hermione was trying to change as much as she could and that included saving Peter from the darkness. _Oh well, she told me what she can, I will just have to work with what I've got. No point in worrying about what I _can't _change, I'll just focus on what I can._

Like Lily, Hermione couldn't sleep, but for a very different reason. She couldn't stop thinking about the people who died. She felt each of their deaths, they started to hit her one by one, until she finally managed to push them out of her mind. She couldn't think about all that now, not yet, she just wasn't ready. Hermione lay there with her hand clenched tightly around the little canvas pouch hanging around her neck, waiting for sleep to come. Which it didn't.

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><p>Hermione slipped out of bed, even though she'd only lain there for an hour and it was four in the morning, she hadn't gotten any sleep. But that wasn't really a problem, she was used to staying awake for 48 hours at a time, so she went to the Founders Hall. If she couldn't sleep she might as well do something useful.<p>

As Hermione walked into the hall she remembered the letters from the founders, the ones that came with the rings. Heading over to the desk; _No, my desk, s_he corrected herself – it was nice knowing she had her own desk and study area – she opened the top drawer and found the letters that were in the envelops which had held the rings now on her finger.

Being the Gryffindor she was, she started with his letter.

_My Heir,_

_As you know from our combined letter, you are the Heir of Hogwarts, that means that you are also each of our magical and spiritual heirs. We will each probably have blood heirs around, probably more than one, but you are our magical and spiritual heir. There have been magical and spiritual heirs before, and we probably have had one or two in the past, I know I had one right before I died. These are people who have what we considered to be our best traits, that young man was brave, courageous, smart, spontaneous and as selfless as they come. He was a spiritual heir, he had the spirit of a Gryffindor. There can only be one magical heir living at one time because a magical heir is exactly that, the person who inherited the magic. To be a magical heir you must also be a spiritual heir. But that is beside the point, the point is that you are my true heir; magical and spiritual. Therefore, you get my knowledge vault, vault number one; I have to say I was quite pleased to find out that I got to have the first vault of Gringotts, the others were rather grumpy about it at first but they didn't really have a choice in the matter. This vault does not have my money, jewels, fancy swords, tapestries and the like, those things are in vault number five, which belongs to my blood heirs, you don't have access to that. What my knowledge vault does have is my personal books and manuscripts, the ones not in my office, that is, and these cannot be removed. There is also a collection of crystals imbued with knowledge, just touch them and you will be given the aptitude for learning that particular discipline of magic. I would have just given the information but Rowena wouldn't let me, she believes in the learning process and is adamant that my magical heirs not be allowed to cheat. These can only be used by magical heirs so believe me when I say, _no one _else in the world will have this advantage, another reason for Rowena's insistence. She says we can't have irresponsible powerful people running around, she really has little faith in my magic's ability to choose people with the traits I value. That might be because she is always accusing me of being rash, but again, that is beside the point. Also in the vault you will find my wand. Now, it is very important that you only attempt to use it if it accepts you, if you don't the magic will probably overpower your core and leave you as a squib. If there is a shower of red AND gold sparks when you pick it up, then you will be able to use the wand but I warn you, it is powerful and if any of the others' wands accept you as well, then you will have to be _extremely _careful how you use it. Now, if the other wands accept you just hold them together in your hand and they should – and I say should because no one has ever tried this before – twine together in a similar fashion as your ring. If not, well, it should be interesting either way!_  
><em>Now, there are other things in the vault but they really don't need mentioning here, you should be able to figure them out on your own. So, the next thing to explain is my personal quarters. As my true heir you will be able to get in them, just go to our door, the one with all the carvings, and press my ring to the lion. In there you will find my office, training room, and sleeping quarters. You are welcome to explore all three and I encourage you to use what you find well.<em>  
><em>If you have any questions, well, I'm sure you're smart enough to work then out on your own.<em>

_Godric Gryffindor_

Hermione looked at the letter in her hand. _Wow, if only I had remembered to read these before class started then I would have been able to get their wands, maybe. Well, I'll just have to sneak out asap._She carefully folded the letter and placed it back in the envelope which she returned to the drawer. She pulled out Ravenclaw's next, it started exactly the same as Gryffindor's.

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><p><em>My Dearest Heir,<em>

_The others don't believe me when I say that you will be a girl but I happen to be blessed with a bit of the sight so I'm pretty sure. On the off chance that you are a boy, I sincerely apologise but can tell you that you will be one of the best boys around because you're in touch with your gentler side. But moving on, before you continue with this letter please read Godric's, unless you already have. __He explained the spiritual vs. magical vs. blood heir situation and I don't think you need it repeated._  
><em>My spiritual and magical vault is vault number two, I remember having a heated discussion with Godric and Salazar about who got which vault, Salazar was very put out because he had to settle for number three. But that is neither here nor there. There are many things in my vault; books, scrolls, manuscripts (I believe some of these once belonged to Merlin so treat them with care), magical artifacts of known and unknown origin and much more but there are two I need to draw your attention to. The first is my true diadem. I made two diadems in my lifetime, the first is the most powerful and the most potent, it is the one in my vault. Only my magical heirs are able to wear it. This diadem will allow you to do many things my second one does not; it allows you to See and Hear, two forms of true divination; perfectly recall any memory, from any age; build a fortress in your mind with a single thought; find your inner animal and most importantly, it will teach you how to feel, see and manipulate magic itself. No one besides my magical heirs knows about this diadem and you must use it sparingly or you may become addicted, that is why I created another, in it's exact likeness. My second diadem, which I have left in the hands of my daughter, will simply enhance the wisdom and knowledge of its wearer, the first does this as well. The second can be worn as much as wanted and by anyone. Be careful though, it is still a powerful artifact and can be dangerous in the wrong hands.<em>  
><em>The second object of note in my vault is my wand. Godric has already explained the possibility of combining our wands. However, only combine the wands which individually accept you, you shouldn't have any trouble because you are the spiritual and magical heir of all of us but there is always the chance that it will not work. If my theories and calculations are correct then the finished product, all four wands combined, will not be any larger or more cumbersome than a normal wand. If, when you hold my wand, blue and bronze sparks come together to form the shape of a raven, you will know you can use the wand. If this does not happen then please, do not try to cast with it.<em>  
><em>That is all I will tell you, as my heir I know you are intelligent enough to figure the rest out on your own.<em>

_Rowen Ravenclaw_

Hermione stared at the letter trying to process what Ravenclaw had said, especially the part about the diadem. The one Voldemort found wasn't the real one! Well, it was _one_ of them but the true diadem was safe in Ravenclaw's vault. Hermione could only imagine what Riddle would have been able to do if he got his hands on the real one; the world wouldn't have stood a chance. She was also glad that such a priceless artifact hadn't been turned into a Horcrux that she would have to destroy. Hermione thought back to what Ravenclaw had said about manipulating magic, would it be possible for her to simply _take_the magic from Voldemort? Or would that not work because it concerned a soul and taking personal magic from someone's core? This would need thinking about. As it was, she still had two letters to read and it was already 5:30 in the morning. Hermione already had an idea as to what Slytherin's might say so she decided to read Hufflepuff's first.

* * *

><p><em>My Heir,<em>

_I don't know how long it has been since the four of us passed from this world but I hope it hasn't been so long that people have forgotten too much. As the Heir of Hogwarts, you are the spiritual and magical heir of all of us; if you read Godric's letter I believe he has explained what that means. My vault is vault number four - it was quite amusing to watch the others as they fought over the order of the vaults. In my opinion, it doesn't really matter, they are all exactly the same size. Personally, I am quite happy to have number four, it means less time in those blasted carts. I'm absolutely certain the goblins have those just to annoy us. But moving on, just use that pretty little ring on your finger and you will be able to unearth it's treasures. And believe me when I say they are treasures. A long time ago I realised that over the years people have been cross-breeding plants and some have been dying out. When I saw this, I began to travel the world to collect and preserve __as many as I could find. My vault holds the fruits of my efforts, I hope that they will not be needed, that people have seen the error of their ways and no longer abandon a plant when they think they've found something better but I have a feeling, and Rowena agrees with me, that this will not happen. I have sealed this part of my vault off so that only the Heir of Hogwarts can access it, I hope that you will make sure to both restore and expand the greenhouses here at Hogwarts. There are many plants there that are not currently in the greenhouses so you will need to add some more eventually. As my heir I know you will see this done._  
><em>Along with my books and other items for all my heirs, there is also a pillar of jade. I have poured much of my knowledge into this stone and it is there for the use of my magical heirs. This includes the ability to speak with and feel the earth, master the elements, grow any plant and of course, cook perfectly.<em>  
><em>Finally, there is my wand. As I'm sure the others have told you, you must be very careful with this wand. You should only use it if, when you hold it, a bouquet of flowers springs forth from the end. If this does not happen, I urge you to place it back on the stand and not think of it again.<em>  
><em>I'm sure you'll make me proud.<em>

_Helga Hufflepuff_

Again, Hermione was speechless. Hufflepuff had a seed-bank in her Gringotts vault? Hermione could finally learn how to cook? The possibilities were becoming endless. She turned to the final letter to see what Salazar had to say for himself, damn poltergeist.

* * *

><p><em>Heir,<em>

_You should read Godric's letter first because he has explained the whole heir business. Yes, you are my true heir, spiritual and magical if you want to be specific. You are also the Heir of Hogwarts, good for you. I have a few things to say in this letter, some of which the others aren't too fond of so it's a good thing only you can read it. Ha! Take _that _Godric, you can't see what I'm writing. Anyway, first, my vault. Rowena and Godric beat me to vaults one and two so I had to settle for three, I made a huge fuss at the time and it was hilarious. I'm pretty sure Helga knew I was just doing it for fun but maybe not._  
><em>In my vault I've given you, and my other heirs some interesting stuff. First, there's my wand, whatever you do, <em>don't _use it unless it accepts you. My wand is extremely temperamental and might blow up if it doesn't like you. I swear, sometimes that thing hates me too. If you touch it and a snake comes out lucky you, you can use it without fear of explosion or, well, at least not immediate explosion. Oh right, before you touch the wand you should probably go to the big snake in the back – yes, I like snakes, they're cool – and look directly into its eyes. This will pass on a bit of what I know, and give you a few gifts, well, abilities actually. Anyway, you probably shouldn't let anyone else look at it because it's a basilisk statue and even though it's not alive, I've made it so it will turn them into a snake for the rest of their lives. I'm just mean like that. Right, after you look at it you should be able to change into a snake when ever you want, it's a bit like an Animagus but not really; speak both Parseltongue and Draconian (that's dragon speak if you're a bit slow); be able to look a real basilisk straight in the eye - not through the second lid though - without keeling over dead; fly around a bit, without a broom; make just about any potion you want (I've never been able to do polyjuice or felix felis, which annoys me to no end - not that I've told anyone, maybe you'll have better luck); and get into my Chamber of Secrets, there's really only one secret but I like adding the 's' just to annoy people, not that they know that. There might be more that it gives you, but I can't really remember it all, you'll figure it out eventually._  
><em>Now, there's something about me that no one knows, not even the other founders, I'm hilarious. No really, I am. And I'm a prankster at heart, they all think random annoying things happen but really it's me. I only hope that there will be at least one person in each generation who follows in my noble footsteps, even if they don't know I left them. So, in my bedroom – yeah, you have to go in there, sorry for the mess – behind the headboard, there is a hidden bookcase. In there you will find <em>_all my journals, written conveniently in Parseltongue, the others think they're dubious plans of some sort but really they're just pranks and thoughts of questionable safety and sanity. Oh, I forgot to say, when you learn Parseltongue you will be able to read and write it as well as speak._  
><em>And last but not least, me. I have done something rather illegal, or, it would be if they knew it was possible. But they don't, so it's not! When you go to my quarters, you will see, or rather hear, what I mean.<em>  
><em>I request that you wreak as much havoc as possible but under no circumstance are you allowed to get caught. If you do, well, I'll be very disappointed.<em>

_Salazar Slytherin_

Hermione actually laughed. She laughed! Slytherin was hilarious, really he was so different from what people thought he was that it was unbelievable. If she hadn't already met him she would have thought him possessed or writing under duress. Well, she knew what she was doing this weekend! She was going to Gringotts; there was a _lot_to do there now. She looked at her watch and realised it was almost seven. With a sigh, she placed all the letters back in the drawer and was about to close it when she noticed another one at the very back. It was carefully printed so she didn't know who wrote it.

_P.S. When you're standing behind this desk, you can apparate anywhere. Have fun!_

Hermione had a sneaking suspicion that it was Salazar who left it but decided not to question he luck. _I guess I'll be going to Diagon Alley sooner than I thought._

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><p>Author's Note: Well, there it is, nice long chapter for you. Anyway, thank you so much for all your reviews, I'm up to 62! Anyway, I like hearing what you have to say and I've been responding however, if you want answers to your questions you're going to have to sign the reviews andor enable private messaging. If you don't mind then no worries though. _  
><em>

See that speech bubble with the blue words beside it? Yeah, that's what you press to tell me what you think!


	16. Death Eater No More

**Preventing the Future**

**Chapter Sixteen – Death Eater No More**

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><p>Disclaimer: I didn't think up Harry Potter.<p>

Author's Note: Okay, I guess people really like long chapters...too bad I'm not that good at writing them, so here is a rather more normal-sized (ish) chapter. Enjoy!**  
><strong>

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><p>By the time Hermione left the Founders Hall it was almost six and she decided that if she was going to do this whole prank thing, now was as good a time as ever to get started. She conjured a few hundred owls, whispered a choice phrase at an interestingly coloured envelope, multiplied it and attached one to every owl. Then she popped through the Door to the Great Hall and laid down a few fairly impressive charms before returning to the common room.<p>

Once the majority of the school was in the Great Hall for breakfast, Hermione surreptitiously waved her hand and sat back to enjoy the show. A few minutes later, the Hall was flooded with identical owls, one headed to every person in the room, it only took a few seconds for the students to realise that each owl was carrying a howler, a bright _blue _howler. Confused looks were shared before all the howlers erupted in unison.

"_**NOMAD AND INKY WOULD LIKE TO WELCOME YOU TO THE MOST INTERESTING YEAR HOGWARTS HAS EVER SEEN!**_" Then they all burst into bright blue flames and burned to a crisp before floating off in a puff of purple smoke.

The Marauders all exchanged significant looks; they had competition! But before anyone had time to fully digest the ramifications of such an announcement, there was a massive explosion which turned everyone's skin lime green with all sorts of orange patterns on it. The smoke floated together above the staff table and read "Hellion also sends his regards!" Then Hellion burst through the smoke with a cackle worthy of Peeves. Speaking of Peeves, he blew the doors open and rained multicoloured confetti down on the entire student populous, his cackle matching Hellion's.

The teachers all groaned, McGonagall even dropped her head into her hands dramatically saying loudly, "Will the torture never end?" However, on the inside she was rather excited, she was bound to see some spectacular spell work this year. After all, a prank is only as good as the one who made it. Flitwick seemed to be the only other teacher even remotely excited, though he hid it well. Even Dumbledore looked slightly scared.

Lily was the only one in the room who put it all together, and she did it with lightning speed. She looked pointedly at Hermione and signed, 'What do you think you are doing?' She would have talked but a) the noise level so way too high to have a decent conversation and b) the boys were sitting just down the table from them.

Hermione just shrugged, 'What do you think? I'm making life interesting.'

Lily then remembered the second act of the morning. 'Oh dear god, Hellion and Peeves. Those Romans on the fourth floor, they were just the beginning, weren't they?'

'I don't know what you're talking about.' Hermione signed smugly.

'You knew!' Lily signed angrily, 'You knew they were up to something and you helped!'

Hermione glared at her new friend, 'I'll have you know that I had nothing to do with Peeves' and Hellion's actions this morning.'

'Then you admit it was you who did the howlers!'

'Why yes, yes it was.' Hermione replied calmly. 'But you're not going to tell, are you?'

Lily thought for a moment. 'No, but why did you say "Nomad and Inky"?'

'To throw the boys off my trail. If it was just one then they would connect the dots way too fast.' Hermione signed.

'Wow. That's smart. Why Nomad and Inky though? Do they mean something?' Lily asked.

'Yeah, they're based on my animal forms, I'm a panther and a golden eagle.' Hermione signed proudly.

'How do you have _two _forms?'

'I found one before the war, that was the eagle but then one day, I transformed really fast and didn't really think about it. It took me a few minutes to figure it out but I realised that my form had changed to a panther. Something about personality I guess. It took some getting used to but now I can be whichever I want.'

"Wow." Lily said, dropping the sign language because the sound level had returned to manageable levels.

"Yup." Hermione said. "Now come on, we've got to get to class."

Once again, classes were boring for Hermione, so, instead of paying attention and taking notes (she had a quill for that), she brought out her Peoplenotebook and checked on her progress. She crossed Peter off the list of people to talk to immediately, and the only other person who was in need of immediate change was Snape, so she would do that today. Hermione spent the rest of the day planning out her conversation with him, not that she really needed to; she was pretty good at winging it.

Compared to breakfast, dinner was an extremely boring affair, the only thing of note was Hermione showing James and Sirius how to make instant wine. Lily didn't think this was the best idea until Hermione whispered to her that while it might taste like real wine, it wasn't actually alcoholic. Then, as soon as Hermione had finished eating, she disappeared.

* * *

><p>Hermione ate as fast as she could without drawing attention to herself, it helped that she gave the boys something to amuse themselves with. Then she hid in a small alcove just outside the Great Hall, directly in the path to the Slytherin dorms. She pulled her version of the Marauder's Map (greatly improved and expanded) out of the pouch around her neck and tapped it with her wand saying clearly "I, Hermione Jean Granger, solemnly swear I am up to no good." They, future Remus and her, had added the name as a security measure, only a few people had access to this version of the map, in this time that included herself, Remus, Sirius, Severus, Minerva, <em>I should probably change that.<em> She thought absently, they don't need to know about this yet. Pushing that thought out of her mind she located Severus in the Great Hall and waited for him to finish and leave. As soon as he approached where she was hiding she silenced and disarmed him, grabbed his arm and pulled him into a _very _secret passage (ie. not on the original Marauder's Map). Had he not been silenced, Severus would have been yelling,

"What the hell? What do you think you're doing little girl? I am going to introduced your insides to the squid as soon as I get my wand back."

Hermione, who had long ago learned to read lips, just frowned at him and said, "That is not very nice you know. Although, I suppose it would be rather justified...Anyway, I need to talk to you in private. I'm going to un-silence you now, it would be nice if you didn't start yelling at me again but if you feel it is necessary go ahead, I have silenced and sealed this area."

As soon as he could speak properly Severus gave her a death glare and hissed, "Who the hell do you think you are, kidnapping me? I am going to make you wish you'd never been born unless you have a seriously good reason for doing this."

"Well, it's nice to know you're reasonable, I do in fact have an excellent reason for this little meeting."

In the dark Severus thought he could see a feral grin on her face but it might have just been the shadows playing tricks. "And what, pray tell, would that be?" He asked with a sneer.

"All in good time. First, some light." Hermione waved her hand and a few glowing globes of light appeared, hovering in the air.

"Impressive." Severus said grudgingly.

"Thank you." Then Hermione grabbed his left arm with a force not to be expected of someone with her thin frame, he tried to pull away but failed miserably.

"What?" He yelled. But before he had time to say anything else, Hermione pushed up his sleeve revealing nothing more than extremely pale skin. She let out a great breath that she didn't know she had been holding as she dropped his arm.

Severus stumbled backwards as Hermione released his arm. He was scared, really scared. Here was the new girl, the home schooled idiot who was a year older than him and she knew that he was going to join the Dark lord. His surprise and shock soon turned to suspicion and then to anger.

"Who are you and who do you work for?" He demanded, his voice heavy with rage.

"I'm Hermione Granger." Hermione said, shaking his hand formally. "And I work for myself. Well, I guess technically speaking I work for the universe but that's a completely different story."

Snape blinked.

"Right, no response, that's fine. Now, as to why I dragged you here, I have some advice for you regarding a certain career choice. Don't ask how I know because I'm not going to tell you, but I don't think joining the Death Eaters and working for little ol' Voldy is such a smart idea."

More silence.

"Okay... I see you're a bit shocked. Let's try this a different way." Hermione said, trying to bring him into what was currently a one-sided conversation. "When was the initiation scheduled for?"

That startled Severus out of his shocked trance. "Um, it is next Saturday. How did you know?"

Hermione sighed, "I thought I told you not to ask that. I just do, okay?"

Severus frowned. "Humph."

"Hey!" Hermione said, "Don't get mad at me, I'm trying to help you here."

"Really?" Severus asked sarcastically, "Cause it's beginning to sound like a bit of a threat to me."

Hermione rolled her eyes. "I'm not threatening you. I just happen to know that you really don't want to do this. You just want a place to play with your potions. Tommy boy offered you that, as well as revenge on the boys who have bullied you for the last six years. Let me be the first to tell you that it's not worth it."

Severus seemed to be having trouble processing all of what Hermione was saying so he focused on two words. "Tommy Boy?" He asked with a confused scowl.

"Ah, yes. Voldemort's real name is Tom Marvolo Riddle, I mean, who in their right mind would name their kid 'Voldemort'? Anyway, I know that you like potions and all that, but being tortured on a regular basis isn't exactly a requirement."

Severus shook his head, trying to convince his brain to work again, Hermione conjured a stool and sat patiently while he processed all that she had said. _How on Merlin's messed up earth does she know so much about the Dark Lord and more importantly, about me? Is she a spy, someone sent here to test my loyalties? What are my loyalties? She's right though, I don't really care about the whole blood purity and world domination thing, I mean hell, I'm a half-blood! I just want to learn about potions and expand my knowledge of magic, Dark Arts included._Severus thought along those lines for quite some time before he finally voiced a question that had been bothering him for a while.

"Why do you care?"

Hermione grinned (it actually came out as a deadly-looking smirk), "Who says I do?"

"Um," Severus said, "It's pretty obvious."

Hermione scowled. "That's not the point. The point is, are you still going to go through with the whole Evil Munchers thing?"

"Munchers?" Severus asked incredulously.

Hermione shrugged, "It's more in tune with their skill level than 'Eaters'."

Severus raised an eyebrow, this girl certainly had some interesting way of referring to the Dark Lord and his followers. It was rather amusing – not that he would ever admit it of course. "I'm beginning to reconsider. But you must have something to offer in return; after all, you can't expect me to pass up an opportunity to have free-run in potion making without compensation."

"Ah, see I _do _have an alternative. I happen to have a few very close friends in the Department of Mysteries, Experimental Potions division. See, I helped them out of a tight spot a few weeks back and they owe me.

His eyes widened. That was an extremely tempting offer, it was his private dream to work with the Unspeakables on potion development. He had so many ideas but not the means or support to explore them. Also, if he was working with the Department of Mysteries he wouldn't be restricted to making harmful potions or whatever else the Dark Lord might request. It was almost too good to be true.

"What do you get out of this?" Severus asked suspiciously, "Everyone has an ulterior motive, even _noble _Gryffindors like yourself. Also, how do you expect me to survive the Dark Lord's wrath? He was very excited to have my skills at his disposal."

Hermione sighed, she couldn't really offer him much protection, not in this time anyway; none of their safe houses were built and she couldn't be everywhere to protect him. "Concerning what I get out of this, I get the knowledge that the bad side will have one less smart person, and it's so much easier to fight idiots. For the 'Dark Lord's wrath' as you put it, I don't have much to offer, but I can teach you what I call my non-existence spell. It's not perfect yet but it works pretty well, basically when you cast it you can choose a list of up to ten or fifteen people who won't remember you exist. Unfortunately once you decide to put someone on the list you can't take them off and you have to actually write down the names on a piece of paper. I'm still working on it."

"Wow." Severus said, his eyes wide, "That's some pretty complex magic."

"Like I said before, I helped the Department of Mysteries out of a tight spot, I have to have had some intelligence to have been able to do that. Now, are you still going to join the Dark side? They might have cookies and all but I promise you it wouldn't be worth it."

Severus stared at her, "Cookies?"

"Yeah, you know, 'Come to the Dark Side...we have cookies!' Never mind, Muggle thing. What's your answer?"

"First, you're bloody crazy; second, you're not as crazy as 'Voldy Boy' as you so endearingly call him. But no, I'm not going to join him anymore, you've made a very convincing argument."

Hermione clapped her hand together and handed him his wand. "Great! I will get back to you about the potions thing but for now, here is a piece of parchment, just hold your wand completely steady, say 'negativius istere' and tap your head followed by the parchment. Then write down the list of who you want to forget about you and whatever you do, don't lose that parchment. I can make it indestructible for you but you _must_ keep it on you _at all times!_"

Severus did as told and wrote down the short list of Death Eaters who had been around when he met with Voldemort. As he was writing Hermione butted in and said,

"For Tommy, you should write both 'Tom Marvolo Riddle' and 'Lord Voldemort', he has a bit of a split personality problem." Severus nodded and made sure they were both on the list.

Hermione turned around right before she left the room, "Oh yeah, and will you please convince Regulus Black that being a Death Eater won't make his brother jealous, it will just disappoint him. Also tell him that his mother is crazy, and he knows it. Thanks!" She flipped her braid over her shoulder and said, "You'll thank me next week!" Then Severus found himself alone and very confused in a dusty passageway.

Just before curfew that evening, Severus pulled Regulus into the same passage he had been pulled into and talked him out of being a Death Eater, the two deciding factors were 1) the slightly scary new girl said not to and 2) he showed him the non-existence spell. Before they went back to their respective dorms they decided to see where the passageway went; much to their surprise (though it shouldn't have been), it led them to a tapestry just down the hall from their common room.

That night, the boys and Lily, despite their exhaustion, convinced Hermione to return to the Room of Requirement and continue her story of the ex-future; this time however, Hermione managed to get them to bed before two.

The next week, something happened that made the three boys who changed their ways extremely happy that they hadn't been marked.

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><p>The Marauders were sitting up in bed that weekend planning their next prank, they were beginning to feel rather outclassed by Hellion and Peeves and Nomad and Inky. So they were all gathered in their dorm, scheming.<p>

"This is so _hard_!" James complained. "We have done so many pranks, I'm running out of ideas!" Sirius nodded his head in agreement and Remus frowned, trying to think of something new.

"It's really annoying, it seems that our lovely competition - who we're no closer to identifying by the way - can come up with extremely inventive pranks." Sirius bemoaned.

Peter looked thoughtful for a moment and decided to use his momentary loss of judgment to his advantage for once. "I think I have an idea." He said. "I have no clue how to do it, but that's your guys' job. The others looked at Peter, he hardly ever came up with anything and when he did it was usually stupid. However, this year something had changed because when he shared it, grins were passed around and plans were made.

Breakfast on Tuesday morning was never a happy time, nobody liked Tuesdays (except a few crazy Ravenclaws) and breakfast was the second reminder that they had to do something that day - the first was having to wake up. For four students however, the morning was much more enjoyable, they knew what was to come. Just before they sauntered in, James, Sirius and Remus pointed their wands at the doors and whispered a few extremely complex charms. Peter watched and was _extremely _glad he'd changed his ways.

Throughout the day, many Slytherins and a few members of the other houses, kept rubbing their arms, batting the air above their heads and looking terrified. What confused the general student body and teachers was that there seemed to be absolutely no reason for their strange behaviour. The more vocal of these students managed to earn themselves a handful of detentions and lost quite a few points. It only took Hermione a few moments to realise the connection between the effected students, and only a few more to find out the cause.

Somehow, the Marauders had managed to charm every Dark Mark in the school to be bright pink and glittery and have a similarly coloured Dark Mark float over them all day long. Hermione also noticed that there was a serious undertone to their actions, both Sirius and James planned on becoming Aurors when they graduated and today they were surreptitiously writing down the names of all the people effected by their prank. They seemed to plan on using their information in the future, there was nothing they could do while they were at school but come time to fight, they would be prepared. Lily was looking so confused and upset that Hermione told her the charm to see the Marauders' prank, when Lily realised exactly what they were doing, a look of extreme pride flashed across her face. Maybe the boys were growing up after all.

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><p>Author's Note: Well, there you go, Snape and Regulus are being reformed! They will now disappear from the story and probably never come back. Reviews are fun and make me happy! (Especially now that my second term is finishing up in a few months and my professors think it's time to run us into the ground...) The blue words <em>right<em> beneath this note are really easy to find, reivews aren't that difficult. There's even a little speech bubble to help you find it! Right, yeah...I'll get the next chapter up when I finish it.


	17. I Need to Show You Something

**Preventing the Future**

**Chapter Seventeen - I Need to Show You Something**

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><p>Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter, if I did then Hermione would be so much cooler than she already is.<p>

Author's note: I went back and changed a few lines in chapter 14, 'Charmed Parchment' so that Lily knows about the map. You really don't have to go back and read it again, especially because it's only four lines in their conversation via the parchment, but I realised I hadn't mentioned that she knew about it before and I refer to her knowing about it in this chapter and didn't want to confuse you guys. Also, I made it so they stole it back from Filch but then had it taken again at the end of their 7th year so they didn't have time to get it before they graduated.

Anyway, enjoy!

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><p>Two weeks into term and after yet another adventurous night in the Founder's Hall, Hermione decided that this was too big a discovery to be kept a secret any longer. Last night she had found a book called 'The Origins of Magic: How our world came to be,' and after having spent nearly a month in there, without telling anyone about the Hall's existence, she was beginning to feel that she was being selfish. Guilt had started worming it's way into her conscious. <em>Okay, <em>She thought. _But who do I tell? _The first person who came to mind was Dumbledore. _But I don't really want this to become a sort of archaeological dig with historians and old people poking around. It's supposed to be a place of learning..._ She finally decided on Remus and Lily. She felt bad for not bringing James and Sirius with them but she knew as soon as they set foot in here they would head to the dueling platform and start trying to blow each others' heads off. That, or start playing with what she had dubbed the 'Magic Toys', for lack of a better name. Those were bits and bobs in a section of their own, just off to the right of the door. They included mirrors which, when stepped through, changed your clothing to whatever you wanted, pendulums which were enchanted to move forever, a miniature marching band, a book stand with an automatic page turner, a massive collection of mini fireworks (as soon as she found these she hid them in with the history books), flags which twirled themselves, a pile of snitches, not all golden, and the list went on forever. Point was, as soon as James and Sirius saw them, well, they would probably end up grinning like maniacs and she wouldn't be able to drag them away for hours. She also didn't think she could deal with answering _five_ people's questions all at once. _I'll bring them tomorrow night, or maybe next week. _She promised herself.

She rolled out of bed at six – later than usual – exhausted, she hadn't gone to sleep till three (another reason to tell someone about it; then she wouldn't have to sneak off in the middle of the night) and stumbled into the shower. When she made it down to the common room the only people there were a few overly-rambunctious first-years, some studious third years, Remus, who was reading a book in front of the fire, and Lily who was telling off the first-years for being so loud in the morning. _Perfect! _Hermione thought as she walked over to where Lily was still grumbling about children who went to bed too early.

"Morning Lily." She said brightly.

"Hermione, now is not the time to be super cheerful. I stayed up waiting for you to get back last night, but I gave up at two thirty when you still weren't back. I mean seriously, where were you?"

"Oh." Hermione said. "Sorry, I was in the library, reading." Not a complete lie, she was in _a _library and she was definitely reading... "Why did you stay up?"

Lily started smiling, "I just needed to talk to you, and I still do!" Her grumpiness from earlier was gone.

"Really? What a coincidence, I need to talk with you too."

"Okay, you go first." Lily said excitedly.

Hermione took Lily by the elbow and steered her towards the sofa next to Remus. "But Remus needs to hear too."

Remus looked up when he heard his name. "Oh, good morning Hermione, Lily. How are you?"

"We're fine, I need to talk to you and Lily." Hermione said swinging the sofa around so it was facing Remus' chair, before gracefully falling onto it dragging Lily down with her.

"Okay." He said, folding his book closed. "I'm all ears."

"So, here's the deal. You know how I've been going out a lot at night?" They both nodded, it wasn't exactly a secret that Hermione was _never _back before curfew. "Well, I found something, a room to be precise. Well, not a room so much as a hall...Anyway, I want to show it to you."

"You found a _hall_?" Remus asked in amazement. Then he muttered to himself, "But it's not on the map...how can something not be on the map?"

Lily leaned in and said in a mock whisper."We know about the map, dimwit. And even when you whisper we can still hear you. We are sitting right here."

The look on Remus' face was priceless but then it just faded to understanding. "Yeah, I'm not actually that surprised, you are smart."

"Actually," Hermione said. "I have something rather...similar."

With a very unladylike snort Lily said, "Understatement much?"

They talked about the map for a while, discussing it's many uses both practical and otherwise. Finally Remus was admitting that there might be unplottable rooms in that castle that their map wouldn't be able to find, but that they didn't know if any existed so they had no way of proving it. Hermione told him to think long and hard about the word 'unplottable'. He blushed and realised just how futile an effort it would be to try and put it on a map. Finally they stopped and Remus remembered their original conversation.

"Oh, right." Remus said. "Well, where is this hall?"

"Yeah, when can we see it?"

"How do you get there?"

"Woah guys, slow down. I'm going to make you guess where it is, but not until we get there – that will make sense later - and you can see it tonight. There are three ways to get there...that I know of." Hermione said.

"Okay..." Lily said.

"Oh, right, Lily, you wanted to talk to me?" Hermione asked, just remembering why Lily stayed up half the night.

"Right, um." She glanced at Remus who was pretending not to be paying attention. "It can wait."

Hermione got the hint and dropped the subject. Then she looked at her watch; it was five to eight and classes started at half past.

"Any idea where James, Sirius and Peter are?" She asked looking around at the almost-empty common room.

Remus rolled his eyes and said "Probably still asleep, I usually have to go wake them up. Sometimes I feel like their mother." He moved to get up but Hermione put a hand on his shoulder.

"May I do the honours this morning?" She asked a little too politely.

"Um. Sure..." Both Remus and Lily were just a tad bit concerned by the look on Hermione's face.

Hermione closed her eyes, a moment later they heard some extremely high pitched screams echo down the stairs followed quickly by James and Sirius and a few moments later Peter stumbled down as well. They looked for all the world as though they had just run through a burning building. Remus started laughing his head off, Lily tried unsuccessfully to smother a smile and Hermione did her best to look innocent.

"What. Did. You. Do?" Sirius yelled, pulling at his charred hair and nearly crying. "You ruined my hair! Look at it, it's all burned and ragged and oh sweet Merlin it's falling out! I'm doomed!"

"What did _I _do? Why do you assume it was me? It could have been one of these two!" Hermione said pointing her thumbs at Lily and Remus, who just burst out laughing again.

"It had to be you because you are the only one who would think to light our beds on fire at 8 o-clock in the morning, on a Saturday!" James nearly yelled.

"Yeah," Sirius added. "I don't know how you did it from down here but you did, and you damn well better fix it!" He tried to look menacing but when your clothing is a smoking wreak and your hair is burned, for some reason it just doesn't work very well. "You could have set the whole room on fire, the whole _building_! It's a good thing James and I know how to put a fire out! What were you thinking?"

"That you look quite funny when you're all smoky. Now, I think I should point out it's not Saturday but Friday, and classes start in half an hour. I don't know about you, but I think it's nice to eat before trying to learn." With that she looped her arm through Lily's and they walked out the portrait hole, closely followed by Remus, who was still laughing his head off.

As they left they heard a chorus of "Shit!" And the sounds of three boys scrambling back up the stairs.

Lily turned to Hermione, "Did you seriously set their beds on fire?"

"Maybe..." Hermione said evasively, "Okay fine, no. I didn't _actually _set them on fire, it's all just an illusion, as soon as they go back in the room all the damage will be gone...even Sirius' hair will be back to normal."

"You are rather sadistic, you know that, right?" Remus told Hermione as they entered the Great Hall.

"Why yes, yes I am." Hermione said with a smirk. "And, honestly, quite proud of it. I mean really, who else would even _think _to use an illusion to get them up?"

Lily grinned, "Good point. It was quite effective too. Sirius' hair was a work of genius too."

Just as Hermione was finishing up her cup of coffee Sirius stumbled into the hall closely followed by James. All the way to the table they were glaring daggers at Hermione.

"You're EVIL!" Sirius hissed at her.

"Not to mention _insane!_" James added.

"That was just mean." Peter grumbled.

Hermione rolled her eyes, "Hey, it's not like I _actually _set you on fire. I mean, I could, if you'd like..."

The three boys just glared at her and each grabbed as much food as possible, wrapped it in napkins and stuffed it in their bags. Before they could grab a cup of juice all the food disappeared from the table, signaling the end of breakfast.

That day, it was Lily and Remus' turn to be inattentive and unfortunately for them they had transfiguration and potions, two classes which needed their full attention. In transfiguration Hermione had to quickly, wandlessly and silently transfigure Lily's rat into a cat and during potions she repeatedly had to stop Remus from blowing up his cauldron. Finally she had had enough. At dinner she whacked both of them upside of their heads.

"Guys!" She said, very frustrated. "I know your imaginations are running wild about the hall, but you have _got_to snap out of it!"

Lily glared at her and Remus rubbed his head. "Hermione." Lily said, "If you would just tell us what it is then we wouldn't have this problem."

Hermione shook her head. "If I told you you would have an even harder time sitting still, believe me. Now, just wait a few more hours and you can see it."

"Hours?" Remus groaned. "Why can't we go right after dinner?"

Hermione sighed. "Do you _want _the whole school to know we're going somewhere cool? Cause James and Sirius are bound to notice. We have to wait till past curfew."

"Past curfew?" Lily asked. "But we will get in trouble."

Hermione smiled a small smile, _Oh man am I glad I got that skill back!_ "First of all, you're head girl so you're allowed to be out at night. Second, we have a map to warn us of any approaching dangers _and _I have something that will help us out a bit even if we do come across someone."

Remus look at her with a funny look in his eye, if he didn't know better he would think she had an invisibility cloak or something, but he did know better.

"Well," Lily said, still not very convinced. "If you're sure."

"I am." Hermione said with a glint of steel in her eye. "So, meet in the common room 15 minutes after curfew?"

They both nodded and retreated to their imaginations. If it was possible, they were even more inattentive than before. What was so interesting that knowing about it would make them more distracted than _not_ knowing? _This is infuriating!_Lily thought.

Hermione was annoyed. She had _had_ to tell Lily and Remus this morning while the sleep addicts weren't around but now that they were just acting weird, the others were bound to notice eventually, _I guess I'll just have to provide a distraction..._She thought to her self as she dug through her wide repertoire of spells. _Perfect._

After two minutes, everyone looked like they'd been spending a bit of time in the sun. After another five it looked like someone chose the wrong tanning oil, this then progressed to everyone looking as if they didn't quite guess their skin tone correctly when going to 'get' a tan. Finally, after ten minutes every single person in the Great Hall had the most unfortunate fake tan imaginable, needless to say, people noticed and there were five reactions. 1) screams of terror as the more vain people realised their hard work had gone to waste - Sirius, 2) extreme looks of confusion because it wasn't a super-dramatic colour so they didn't understand the prank - Peter, 3) shrugs and indifference, food was more important and these sorts of things were to be expected, anyway, they'd wear off eventually - James, 4) pure and halfbloods who had no idea what it was, but thought it was hilarious and didn't care that _they _looked ridiculous, just that everyone else did too - Remus and 5) Muggleborns who recognised the tans for what they were and came to the conclusion that one of the many pranksters in the school must either be Muggleborn too or really well acquainted with the Muggle world - Lily. Lily also got the impression that this was Hermione's handiwork and her way of 'snapping them out of it'. It worked, for the rest of dinner at least.

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><p>The hours in the common room between dinner and curfew were probably the longest Lily and Remus had had to endure for quite some time. They kept looking at their watches, glaring at Hermione, opening and closing books, glaring at Hermione, staring off into space, glaring at Hermione, doodling on their parchment, glaring at Hermione getting up, walking around, sitting down, and glaring at Hermione some more. Hermione just sat there and smiled an all-knowing smile, which resulted in annoying them to no end and earning her even more glares.<p>

Finally, curfew came around and Lily, as Head Girl, ushered everyone back into their dorms, shoved Remus up the stairs and dragged Hermione back to theirs. Remus got changed into his pajamas and jumped into bed, pulling the curtains closed so fast that they almost fell off. Lily sat on Hermione's bed and started bouncing up and down, it was a good thing their roommates had skedaddled off to their boyfriends' rooms (in Ravenclaw) otherwise they would probably have gotten quite a few questions. Hermione just sat and read a book.

15 minutes later Hermione and Lily walked quickly and quietly down the stairs and met Remus in the common room. He was looking a little more nervous than he should considering the number of times he had roamed the castle with the other Marauders. He did have a good reason though.

"Hermione!" He whispered. "How do you know we're not going to get caught? I mean, we don't even have the map! I was going to grab it but James and Sirius decided a midnight excursion to the Broomsticks was a good idea!"

"Oh, but I do...remember where I'm from? Well, I brought back a few souvenirs, including one map and one invisibility cloak!" Hermione said, enjoying his reaction.

Remus' jaw dropped. "How the hell did you get those?"

"I'm from the future, remember?" Hermione said, as she started digging around in the purse under her shirt.

"Oh, right." Remus said. Lily just looked at them like they'd each grown another head, Hermione hadn't told her about the cloak, yet.

"Oh well." Hermione said pulling Harry's cloak out of her bag. "I guess we will just have to share."

"Excuse me." Lily said. "Would someone mind telling me what we're talking about? I'm a little lost here."

"Sorry Lily." Hermione said as she turned to her. "See, James has this invisibility cloak, a real one, that he got from his father, when James died he gave it to his son, who had me put it in my purse for safekeeping when he didn't need it. When I got pulled back here, I brought the cloak with me."

"So now," Lily said starting to understand, "There are two cloaks, James' and Hermione's, but they are both the same cloak."

"Exactly, now, who here wants to go see the hall?"

Remus and Lily exchanged identical grins. "That would be us."

"Alright then." Hermione pulled out the map and tossed the cloak over them. "Off we go." She had decided earlier that she would take them via the Astronomy Tower because it was cooler and gave the hall a more mysterious air.

As they were climbing the stairs to the Astronomy Tower, Remus turned to Hermione.

"You know, as much as I admire your exploratory skills, I feel obliged to inform you that this is the Astronomy Tower...and it doesn't go anywhere." He whispered.

Lily didn't want to insult Hermione but she silently agreed with Remus. They had all been up here several times and while being amazingly cool and off-limits except for class, it was just a tower.

Hermione smothered a smile. "Remus, shut up and keep walking."

Remus grumbled something indistinct about secretive friends who liked to torture people.

When they got to the top of the tower Hermione took the cloak off and turned to face the wall next to the exit.

"I'm pretty sure she's gone nutters." Lily whispered to Remus.

"Yeah." Remus replied. "I mean, I know she's been through a lot but you'd think if she was going to crack she would have done it before now."

"...Delayed reaction maybe?"

Hermione just smiled, again. They obviously thought she couldn't hear them, but she just ignored them and placed her hand on the wall where she knew the door was. As soon as it made contact with the stone, the door appeared. Lily and Remus gasped and jumped backwards.

"Holy shit!" Remus exclaimed.

"Where the hell did that come from?" Lily added.

"This, my friends, is one of the entrances to the Founder's Hall." Hermione said smugly. "Now come on, it's amazing."

As they walked down the tiny stair case and along the twisting corridors Hermione could hear Lily and Remus narrating their journey, they basically vocalized everything Hermione had thought when she first come down here.

"Remus, have you seen these?" Lily asked pointing to the torch brackets. "They are amazing!"

"I know, all the houses working together..." Remus said, in awe. "And none of them are the same!"

"Yeah, they just keep going and going and going."

"Woah, look at this one! Slytherin's snake is riding on Gryffindor's lion's head!"

This continued all the way to the entrance. When they got to the door Hermione noticed a portrait which had _not_been there before. It was a beautiful pastel painting of a young man, he looked to be in his late teens or early twenties.

"Young miss," He said as they approached. "Last time you were here you exited a different way and failed to pick a password. I request you do so now."

Lily and Remus looked at each other, extremely confused. Hermione just looked at it, she hadn't even thought of that. "Um. Okay." She racked her brain for a suitable password. "How about 'Cool old stuff'? I don't think anyone will guess that, it's not very passwordy."

"Yes, that will be fine." The portrait responded.

"May I ask you a question?" She asked.

"Of course."

"Who are you? I mean, who are you a painting of?"

"I am known as 'The Student'. I was the first student allowed in this hall and have been given the honour of keeping it's secrets safe since then. Who, may I ask, are you? I know you must be an Heir of Hogwarts otherwise you wouldn't have been able to get in and I wouldn't have been woken from my centuries of slumber."

Lily looked at the painting as if it had just done a tap dance and Remus looked at Hermione as if she had grown another head. The air around them practically rippled with their questions. _Heir of Hogwarts? Does something like that even _exist_?_

"Oh, my name is Hermione Granger." She didn't really know what else to say.

The Student looked at her intently for a moment. "There is something strange about you." He finally said. "Something isn't quite right."

"Oh." Hermione said. _How on earth can a portrait see that after talking to me for less than five minutes?_"Um...well...I'm not from around here."

Lily and Remus forgot their shock and confusion and tried to stifle laughter, 'not from around here', that was the understatement of the year.

"No," The Student said. "That's not it, you are from here, you are a Gryffindor and have been for many years." Again, he stared at her. "I can't put my finger on it but there is something. Don't worry Hermione Granger, I will figure it out."

Hermione pushed open the door muttering about paintings who knew too much. Lily and Remus each gave The Student an apologetic glance before hurrying in after her. Then, their jaws dropped and stayed that way for a good five minutes. While the two of them tried to regain their vocal skills, Hermione had a short chat with Matri, she told her that Lily and Remus were now allowed into the Hall and to help them out if they got lost or stuck or something.

"Merlin, Hermione. This room is amazing!" Remus said.

"Spectacular." Lily said at the same time.

Hermione ushered them over to the big desk and reached into the drawer. Pulling out the letter she gestured for them to sit on the nearest couch.

"Here, read this." She said, handing them the old parchment. "It should explain things a bit."

Lily and Remus sat in silence while they read the letter from the founders, their eyes grew bigger and their eyebrows rose up to meet their hair.

"Wow, that's really impressive!" Lily said.

"But kinda creepy at the same time." Remus added. "I mean, that whole bit about being like Slytherin? Weird."

"Yeah. That, I have to agree with." Hermione said. "It took me a while to figure out."

"Care to explain?" Lily asked, much to Remus' annoyance.

"Lily!" He said. "Don't you think that's a bit personal? Not to mention a little short sighted. Remember, she _was _in a war."

Hermione sighed. "Yeah, it bothered me for a while but I eventually came to accept it. I mean, I have to own up to what I did in the war sometime, right? The letter helped."

"Oh." Lily said. "Sorry."

"Don't be. I don't mind anymore. Anyway, you were just curious, nothing wrong that."

"So." Remus said, changing the topic. "Founder's Hall? Pretty cool, hey?"

"You have no idea." Hermione said with a grin. "If you come over here I'll show you one of the best features, the rest of the hall is amazing but this is just cool. Not to mention convenient."

Hermione then showed them the large book near the door that she had completely missed when she first came it. "This is the index."

"Index of what?" Remus asked, it wasn't exactly that difficult to figure out but his brain had just had every single fuse blown and was currently a pile of amazed goop. Lily's wasn't in much better shape either.

"This index is a list of all the books, the toys, the potions, the artifacts, and everything else in this massive hall. It organizes them and helps you find them. The best part is the book section. It lists every single book in the castle and tells you exactly where it is. I only wish there was an index like this in the library, it would make life so much easier."

"Nice!" Remus said. "I'll have to look through it, but I think I will look around a bit first."

"Yeah," Lily said. "As much as I would like to know what all is in here, I would like to start with the big picture."

"Then off you go." Hermione said as she waved them away. She then proceeded to find the fiction section in the book part of the index. As much as she loved history, facts and learning, she had gained a new appreciation for recreational reading, and wizards had such interesting stories. It was a good way to get her mind off everything else that was happening, or had happened, in the real world. She scanned the titles until she found one that sounded interesting, _'The Crystal Dragon', _she curled up on her favourite couch and started reading. Every now and then she would chuckle lightly when she heard Lily or Remus exclaim about something.

After an hour or so, Remus plopped down on the other side of the couch with a book of his own, a pile of books actually.

"I can see why you spend hours in here, this is the best hall ever! In fact, I think it might be my new favourite place in the world."

Twenty minutes later Lily joined them, sitting down on the fluffy rug and leaning against the sofa between where Remus and Hermione were sitting. She opened one of the many books she had found.

They sat in companionable silence, reading their books until Hermione casually mentioned the time, at which point they cursed loudly and jumped up.

"Okay." Hermione said. "Now, I know how tempting it is to take these books out of here but I don't think it's a good idea. If anyone sees us with amazing, _new _books, well, new as in they haven't seen them before, they will be suspicious and I'm not sure I'm ready for the whole school to know about this place."

Remus frowned and Lily pouted but they understood what she was saying so they carefully placed their books on the side table before following Hermione towards the exit. Like when Hermione first went to leave the room, Lily and Remus immediately noticed the ornate door. When the three of them approached the door, Matri popped up next to them.

"Miss Hermi, I is been learning from the Hall and it be telling me that you is needing to give others permission to be using the door too. You is being able to chose which doors they can go through. Just make them putting their hand on the picture and then you is saying 'I, Hermi Granger, Founders' Heir give this person, and here you is needing to say the name, permission to enter the room beyond this door. You is needing to do this for every room." Then Matri popped away.

"Wow." Hermione said. "_That's _going to take a while. I think I'll just key you to the common room for now. I will give you a tour of the hidden rooms, some of which are amazing by the way, later. I will also explain how the door works. For now though, I want to go to sleep. I'm getting soft you know, I'm sleeping every night."

Lily and Remus exchanged a look, they knew Hermione didn't get much sleep but saying she went days without sleeping? That was incomprehensible to them. However, they were tired and despite their curiosity about this mysterious door and the 'hidden rooms' beyond, they were ready to call it quits for the day.

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><p>Lily and Hermione lay on their beds but sleep wasn't swift in coming to either of them, and they both knew it.<p>

"Hermione. This is ridiculous. Neither of us is going to get to sleep, me because my brain won't shut off and you because, well, you're tossing and turning all over the place for some reason."

Hermione sighed, she was also having trouble turning her brain off, she kept trying to imagine Lily and Remus' faces when they saw the different rooms behind the door. "You're right. Let's do something."

"What do you have in mind?"

"Remember how you wanted to help out with getting back at the boys?" Hermione asked with a feral grin.

"Yeah..."

"Well, what better way to do it than upstaging them?"

"How do you beat a giant chocolate fondue fountain in the Entrance Hall?" Lily asked incredulously. "Even McGonagall was sneaking some!"

"It was a good show but I have a few ideas..." Hermione said.

"Oh really? Please enlighten us mere mortals."

"How do you do magic without a wand?" Hermione asked.

Lily sighed. "You become Hermione Granger."

Hermione rolled her eyes. "Well yeah, but I was thinking more along the rhetorical question line. The answer is you don't."

"Right. So what are we doing with the wands?" Lily asked, getting kinda excited.

"Well, I was thinking something along the lines of placing them just out of reach..."

"Oh, you're mean." Lily said. Then she grinned, "Where are we doing this?"

"Great Hall." Hermione said as she bounced out of bed. "And I have a cool way to get there."

"You mean the door? We can get to the Great Hall from here, through the door?"

"Yup! Now get your slippers, we have places to be and pranks to set!" Hermione said as she waved her hand at the stairs turning them into the slide (without the lovely sound effects though) and slid down like a surfer.

Lily had stifled a scream as she flailed her arms while trying to stay upright on the slide stairs. "What the hell?" She whisper-yelled at Hermione. "I could have _died_!"

"Nah, I put a cushioning charm at the bottom. The worst that could have happened was your pajama pants could have slid up your legs. Oh calamity." Hermione said dryly. "Now come on."

They slipped through the door ("Awesome!") and hurried into the hall where they started placing charms. 15 minutes later they stood back and Hermione felt out with her magic to make sure everything was in place. Then she thought of something.

"Lily, if we're going to do this, we need to do it properly."

"What do you mean?" Lily asked, her now tired face showing her confusion.

"We need to sign it. We can't just use Nomad and Inky, that's me. We need a name." Hermione said, wracking her mind for a good name they could use.

Then Lily had an epiphany. "We're stealing their thunder, right?"

"Yeah..." Hermione said, having no clue where this was going.

"Well, let's call ourselves the Bandits!"

"Lily, that's genius!" Hermione said with a grin. "Now, we just need a name for you. Which reminds me, we have to work on getting you to be an animagus."

"Um. Okay. But if we don't know what I am, how can I get a name?" Lily asked with a frown.

"I'm really good at poking around in people's heads, I can find it for you if you want." Hermione offered.

"YES!" Lily nearly yelled.

So Hermione closed her eyes and entered Lily's mind. After only a minute she smiled and came back to the world. "Lily, you are a red tailed fox. That's not much of a surprise."

Lily's eyes glazed over, "I'm a fox...that's so cool! Can I be called sneaky? No, that's a terrible name. Um, help me out here, I came up with The Bandits, it's your turn."

"Sly." Hermione said simply.

"Sly..." Lily rolled it around on her tongue for a minute before grinning. "Nomad, Inky and Sly. The Hogwarts Bandits."

"Maybe just The Bandits." Hermione said. "But yeah, it's perfect." She twiddled her wand before jabbing it at the hall. "Done."

"What did you have it say?" Lily asked.

"First it will read, "Nomad and Inky say Good Morning!' Then change to, "Sly wishes you all good luck..." It will all fade away as the prank sets in and then the words "The Bandits have struck!" will appear to burst out of Dumbledore's wand."

Lily laughed like a maniac as they fell back into their beds.

* * *

><p>Author's note: There you go! Sorry for making you wait, but I'm probably going to have to make you wait a bit more for the next one. Reviews are <em>great<em> and I answer any questions you might have (unless they give away the story). So, R&R. Read and review!


	18. Bandits

**Preventing the Future**

**Chapter Eighteen – Bandits**

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><p>Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter.<p>

Author's note: I'm so sorry for making you wait so long. I was working on this chapter, and I kept working and then I realised that it was over 13,000 words so I split it up. Anyway, I will have the next chapter up later today. Enjoy!

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><p>September was progressing quite nicely, well, three groups of people thought so, everyone else was a bit jumpy. The Marauders, Nomad and Inky, and Peeves and Hellion were wreaking havoc on the school. For example, the second week of school started off rather interesting, with the Bandits announcing themselves as an official pranking group by hijacking everyone's wands, the Marauders didn't take too kindly to having competition, so they retaliated two days later.<p>

Lily and Hermione were just about to walk out of the common room in the morning when Remus pulled them aside.

"Hey guys, I can't tell you much, but I heard from a fifth year that they had been _walking on the ceiling_ in some of the corridors. I didn't hear a lot but from what I gathered, half the students were flipped upside down..."

Lily stifled a smirk, fifth years indeed, this was the Marauders at work. But Remus didn't know that the girls knew who the Marauders were, so she played along, "That's terrible, what about our skirts?"

Hermione shrugged and pointed to her plain black NOT regulation pants, "See, this is why you ditch the skirts like me."

"They said that even though their hair, bags and jackets flew up, their shirts and skirts stayed put." Remus said.

"Wow, I guess whoever did this has some sense of morals. I mean, it would just be mean to have people exposing themselves like that." Lily said, surprised that James and Sirius wouldn't take advantage of something like this to see up people's skirts.

Remus had to refrain from defending all the slightly more embarrassing pranks the Marauders had pulled in the past, especially seeing as up until last year, they probably _would_ have used a prank like this to conduct a survey of girl's undergarments; colour, style, pattern, size, the list would have been quite extensive, especially since Sirius was involved.

"Yeah, that's quite considerate of them." Hermione agreed.

"However, I think I'll put some shorts on under this, _just_ in case." Lily said as she pulled Hermione back up to the dorm. As soon as they closed the door, Lily dragged Hermione onto her bed and closed and silenced the curtains. "Oh my god! I can't believe they did that!" She cried.

"I know, I would have thought they would be doing this to see if you all match your knickers with you bra." Hermione said, thinking that if guys wore skirts, she would have used it to answer the age-old question of 'boxers or briefs?'

"No! That they would flip us upside down! And they were obviously thinking about or knickers or they wouldn't have thought to keep them covered!" Then she realised exactly what they had done. "Oh, but they were thinking of our knickers in terms of allowing us to keep them to ourselves..."

"Lily, you confuse me at times."

"Yeah, I confuse myself too. Anyway, I'm still going to put shorts on, I'm not going to trust them on this. I mean, yeah, I trust Remus, but there is every possibility that James and Sirius have changed it." So Lily kicked Hermione off her bed. Then she realised the only shorts she had were thigh-length conservative ones. "Um, Hermione?"

"Present and accounted for."

Lily rolled her eyes, "You're weird. I don't have any shorts that fit under my skirt, if you hadn't noticed I'm a bit conservative in my dress."

Hermione rolled her eyes. "Of course you are. Now, we have a lovely tool at our disposal called _magic_." Hermione conjured a pair of short pajama boxer shorts and handed them to Lily, "Here, I used a permanent conjure – quite handy that – so they won't be going anywhere. Now put them on and let's go, I want breakfast."

Lily pulled the boxer shorts on under her skirt and followed Hermione down to breakfast. On their way, they were transported to the ceiling no less than three times. But, true to Remus' word, Lily's skirt and both girls' shirts didn't move a bit. What was hilarious though, was just as they were about to sit for breakfast, Mrs. Norris came tearing through the hall and ran straight into Lily, causing her to trip and fall flat on her face. If Hermione hadn't quickly put a cushioning charm on the floor she probably would have broken her nose, as it was, her skirt flipped up and exposed her bright blue and green checkered boxer shorts.

James turned in his seat as Lily and Hermione walked into the great hall, he knew that because Hermione was friends with him as well, there was a good chance that Lily would be sitting near him, _again!_ This made him so happy that he didn't notice Mrs. Norris chasing Peter through the hall, his little nirvana of watching Lily walk was shattered as she tripped over the blasted cat and fell face first onto the floor right in front of him. He was frozen in shock as he watched, as if in slow motion, her skirt fly up. James couldn't stop himself from wanting to know exactly what was under that skirt, even though he knew it wasn't right. However, he soon noticed that she was wearing what looked like a pair of boxers...

Sirius grinned at Lily who was standing up and smoothing down her skirt, blushing furiously. "Why Lily, I never knew you brought back souvenirs from your conquests."

James punched Sirius on the arm, hard. "Shut up!" He couldn't help but admire Lily's legs as well as be infinitely glad that his future wife's modesty was still intact.

"Well, aren't you glad you decided to put those shorts on after all?" Hermione asked smugly. This was a perfect example of why she didn't wear skirts, too much room for disaster.

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><p>One Tuesday morning near the end of September, Hermione woke from a nightmare and couldn't go back to sleep. So, she went down to the kitchens, again. Apparently Dinky had told <em>all<em> the elves about her 'plans' because as soon as she entered, they gathered around. Five of the elves set up a small table with a whole pot of steaming coffee and a 'light' breakfast, Dinky then pushed her way to the front.

"Miss Hermione!" She squealed happily, "You is coming back!"

"Yes, I am." Hermione said with the hint of a smile.

"Is there anything we can be helping you with? Should we swap food? Add stuffs to students' drinks? Can we help yet?" Dinky was practically bouncing up and down with glee.

"Well," Hermione said, "I haven't actually thought too much about that yet, so not right now." The look of disappointment that crossed the elves' faces was rather pitiful.

_Wow,_ She thought, _The elves certainly do like to help out with the mayhem in this school. Who would've thought? _

"I know I asked a couple of weeks ago, but, why do you like pranking people so much? I mean, aren't they your masters and all that stuff?" Hermione didn't want to be rude, but from her limited experience with SPEW, the elves didn't like to hurt anyone, especially not those they served.

"Because it is making many laugh." Dinky said simply, "And we is serving Hogwarts, not the students. Also, some teachers is be giggling at them, they is making people happy."

"Huh," Hermione said, "That is actually a very logical way to look at it. In that case, I will make sure to come up with something as soon as possible."

"Well, Masters Sirius and James is usually starting with the food fun in October. They is saying that they is doing spell and charm fun to be warming up for the year."

Hermione spent the rest of breakfast figuring out the best way to go about pranking the school without getting caught by the professors or the Marauders. She remembered her and Lily's creation of the Bandits and decided they a) needed a headquarters and b) should recruit the poltergeists or at least have them extend Hermione's immunity to Lily.

She wasn't going to pass up the chance to rub something in the boys' faces again and she really wanted to drive them crazy trying to figure out who the new person was. The Bandits were going to create an alliance with the house elves. There was the added bonus of undermining the student body's faith in the all-powerful Marauders, again. _Oh, this is going to be all sorts of interesting._ Time for the first official meeting of the Bandits!

Even though it was only ten past five, Hermione went back up to her dorm and shook Lily awake.

"Lily! Get up! I have something to discuss with you!"

"Mumph, go away." Lily mumbled.

"Nope. We can do this the easy way or the hard way, your choice."

"I choose the sleepy way." Lily replied, turning over so Hermione was looking at the back of her head.

Hermione shrugged and whispered a silencing charm. Then she pulled the covers off Lily and conjured a hundred miniature goth ballerinas who danced all over her, the effect was similar to that of tickling someone with a feather, everywhere at once. However, the dancers also had the shock factor, this usually resulted in the expected giggles being followed by self-induced paralysis, panic and sometimes even screams. To give her credit, Lily's paralysis didn't turn to panic but rather to extreme annoyance as evidenced by the glare currently directed at Hermione.

"You are one _evil_ person." Lily growled, "You know that, right?"

"Yes, as a matter of fact, I do know, and have for quite some time now." Hermione said blandly, with a hint of amusement on her face. "Now, get dressed, I need to talk with you." With that, Hermione lifted the silencing spell from around the bed and left the dorm.

Lily shook the sleep from her head and jumped – almost literally – into the shower. _What on earth could this be about? Has something happened?_ She thought as she washed her hair in record time, her imagination running wild; little did she know that the truth was quite mundane compared to what she was cooking up in her head.

In seven minutes flat, Lily was washed, dressed and down in the common room.

"What happened?" Lily asked breathlessly

"Oh, maybe I should have told you it wasn't urgent..." Hermione said sheepishly.

Lily fixed her with another glare, "Yeah, that would have been nice."

Hermione led Lily over to a tiny table in the far corner of the common room. "Anyway, I was down in the kitchens this morn-" She stopped when she saw that Lily's expression was one of shock, glee and barely concealed excitement. Hermione raised an eyebrow at her.

"You know how to get into the kitchens?" Lily asked in awe.

"Um, yeah. And so do the Marauders."

Understanding filled Lily's face, "That makes complete sense, it explains how they manage to pull off spectacular parties in the common room on such a regular basis."

"Yeah, well, that's not why I woke you up. I woke you up so we can start in on operation 'Bandits'."

"Oh! Okay, I'm in. What's first?" Lily asked.

"Well, we need a headquarters and I think I know just the place. Slytherin's old rooms." Hermione said smugly. "No one will find us and no one will even _guess_ that we're there."

"Yeah, because they're _Slytherin's_ rooms. Why can't we use Gryffindor's?"

"Because, unbeknownst to the entire world, Salazar was Hogwarts first prankster! He won't appreciate me telling you this, but he's Hellion! I helped temporarily bring him back as a poltergeist. He can't get back at me though, he and Peeves promised me immunity."

"I don't know what to say. But you're completely nuts! The school didn't need another devil in the air! Although, that does explain those soldiers on the fourth floor...Peeves has never been able to do magic, I guess Salazar, or Hellion, managed to bring a bit of that back too." Lily said with a grimace.

"But devils make things interesting! And they're a hell of a lot better than manic, bipolar, sadistic hypocrites."

Lily looked a bit shocked. "Oh. When you put it that way, the more poltergeists the merrier. Actually, scratch that, we're good with just two. Anyway, Slytherin's rooms?"

The two girls spent the next three hours in Slytherin's room. After convincing Matri to get them some more pillows – so they didn't have to worry about the conjured ones vanishing on them and didn't have to use the extra magic needed for a permanent conjure – they set up camp on Salazar's bed. By the time they were finished and had closed the curtains, they had built themselves a nice hideaway. The Bandits had their headquarters.

"You know." Lily said. "This reminds me of a blanket fort I built with my sister when we were six."

Hermione gave a small laugh, "Yeah, I can see that, I like it!"

"Me too. The Marauders have their _dorm_ but we have a secret hideout!" Lily leaned back but forgot that it was a curtain so she nearly fell out. "Maybe we should do something about these curtains..."

"Probably a good idea." Hermione then waved he hand and the curtains became solid (but still looked like curtains), then she waved it again and a small entrance appeared; one of the curtains split down the middle and created a flap. "Problem solved!"

They scooted their pillows and blankets around so they rested against the curtains. Lily smiled, "We have a nest." She said.

"So I see. Now, I believe we have some planning to do." Hermione pulled out a thick leather-bound journal, it had a beautiful design on the covers and looked amazing. She ran her fingers over the front cover and titled it. Then she handed it to Lily for inspection.

"Wow. 'The Bandits: An Account', I like it. Let's get started." Lily said. They spent the next hour writing down the pranks they'd already pulled, as well as the ones by Inky and Nomad. Then, in the back of the book, Lily listed every prank she could remember the Marauders ever pulling; it wouldn't do to repeat anything, that was just poor form. It would also implicate Hermione because she was new and powerful, the pranks were going to be fairly complicated, hence, powerful. And if they repeated, they would know it was either a first or second year, or Hermione.

By 7:30, Hermione and Lily had brainstormed a few ideas and Hermione had formally introduced Lily to Peeves and Hellion. The two poltergeists were more than happy to welcome a new prankster and readily agreed to let the Bandits do their own thing without interruption.

"We need a cooler version of the Marauders' Map." Lily said.

Hermione rolled her eyes, "We already _have_ a cooler version, mine is bigger."

"No, we need to make it even better." Lily said, frowning. "Let's see, the map already shows where people are, would it be possible to put modified listening charms around? So we could have speech bubbles or something?"

"Holy Merlin! That's an amazing idea. We just have to figure out how to make it work...I see research in your future." Hermione finished with wide eyes and exaggerated hand movements.

"Funny." Lily said with a frown. "But I'm serious, I really think we could make this work. I mean, think of all the books we have!"

"Okay, so speech bubbles, what else? That would be a cool addition but not very a very dramatic one."

Lily thought for a moment, "What about the door? I know you haven't shown me all of the destinations but could we maybe put them on it? Maybe on the back or something, with a different password?"

"Oh, that's genius, Lily! A different password, okay, so how about we have the current map show up if you say the normal password but if you want the cooler version, you have to say a _different_ password? We could have the improved Marauders map, speech bubbles etc. on the front and the Founders' stuff on the back." Hermione said excitedly, "We could even rename it!"

"Oh, oh, oh, I have a name!" Lily cried, then she sat up straight and in a very official voice she declared, "Nomad, Inky and Sly present the Bandits' Boon!"

Hermione grinned, "Perfect, the Bandits Boon, it even alliterates. We'll need a password but I think that can wait until we've actually figured out how to make it work. We not only have to layer the spell work for the school map but we also have to figure out how to get the new information on there in the first place. Not to mention figuring out how to get the Founders Hall, which I think is close to unplottable, on the map."

"Yup, I agree. Any other ideas for what to add? We've got speech bubbles and the Founders' Door." Lily said, writing down their ideas under the heading The Bandits Boon.

"Well, we could try to make it show us all the passwords...and _all_ the passageways, I know for a fact that we still don't have them all." Hermione said, trying to think of other cool things their map could do. "I have another idea, but I have no idea if it will work."

Lily perked up, "Fire away."

"We could make little portkeys. Like have a corner of the map produce a never-ending supply of say, circles of paper, so that when you tap it on a certain bit of the map, it will create a portkey there."

Lily scrunched up her face in thought, "That would be amazing, assuming we can pull it off. I can only imagine how complicated the magic for that would be."

Hermione thought for a moment, "Maybe if we had anchored portkeys? We have a set number of destinations, like you can take one _from_ anywhere but only _to_ certain places."

"Okay, I'll put it down but let's not count on it working. We could also have a sort of magic detector. Something that shows if there are any charms, spells or enchantments on a room." Lily said.

"Yeah, that sounds a lot easier, I say we start with the Founder's Door/Hall/Rooms, then the speech bubbles and then the magic detectors, we can go from there. Now, it's almost eight and I'm pretty sure the boys are wondering where we are,

That day, Hermione and Lily chatted via their parchment (but only in History of Magic, Charms and Transfiguration, all of which were theory based lectures), they listed spells, charms and enchantments that they thought would be helpful for their map, and even more that they would need to research. All in all, it was a very productive day and everyone thought the best students were being just that, the best students, they never knew that they were planning the opposite. If James and Sirius had found out what they were doing, they would probably have kissed them long and hard, right then and there. Well, James might also have had an aneurysm, his Lily flower was planning on breaking rules, lots of them! Or maybe proposed...

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><p>The first weekend in October, Hermione decided that it was time to pay a visit to Gringotts, and maybe the Department of Mysteries as well. No, just Gringotts for now, there was plenty to do there. Early Saturday morning, Hermione woke Lily and told her about the Founders' vaults and wands. She didn't know why she hadn't mentioned this earlier but needed an excuse to be gone for a good chunk of the day. Lily just blinked at her.<p>

"Right. Whatever. Tell Remus." Then she turned over and went back to sleep.

Hermione huffed. "Fine." Then she slipped into the boys' dorm, put a silencing charm on Remus and gently shook him awake. "Remus, wake up!"

"Huh! Wha? Was goin on?" Remus tried to say, before he realised that he was silenced. He rolled his eyes and gestured at his mouth, Hermione took the charm off. "Whats up at...fucking Merlin, its 5:30 on a Saturday, this is too early, go back to bed."

"Hey. I already got ignored by Lily, so shut up and listen, then I'll leave you alone."

"Okay, fine. What is it?"

"You know the letter from the Founders Hall?" Hermione asked.

With a yawn Remus replied, "Yeah, what about it?"

"Well, there were more and now I have to go to Gringotts to get some cool knowledge stuff and combine their wands." Hermione explained hurriedly.

"You do realise that that makes absolutely no sense, right?" Remus said with a sigh.

"Whatever, I'll explain later. Just cover for me today, okay? Get Lily to help."

Remus counted off on his fingers; "Gringotts, knowledge, wands, cover, Lily, got it. Can I sleep now?"

"Yes, go to sleep I'll be back sometime this afternoon." With that, Hermione slipped through the Founders Door, nicked some food from the kitchen and apparated to just outside Gringotts, which had literally, _just_ opened it's doors. She walked up to the _one_ open teller.

"Greetings, good goblin. I have some rather delicate business to attend to this morning and was wondering if you would be kind enough to help me." Hermione said politely.

The goblin scowled at Hermione but looked almost flattered by her respectful tone. "Of course, miss. With whom am I dealing?"

"I'm actually not here for my own vault, I'm here about vaults number one through four." Hermione said rather smugly, showing the goblin her ring.

"Are you really?" The goblin asked, squinting at the ring. "Well, follow me, I'm sure you're quite anxious to get down there."

Hermione was surprised that they just let her go straight down, no test, no interrogation, nothing. The reason became apparent when the cart stopped at the end of the line.

"Here we are. If you can step out of the cart without dying you're welcome to attempt to open the vaults." The goblin smirked, "If you turn around now, you get fined 1000 Galleons, if you die...well, the dragons are always peckish."

Hermione glared back at the goblin. "Thank you so much, kind sir." Then she stepped right out of the cart and walked straight to Gringotts' very first vault. She willed the ring to show Gryffindor's crest and then pressed it in the middle of the door. The door swung open silently and Hermione saw hundreds of books and manuscripts stacked neatly around the relatively small vault, in the very middle was a small pedestal with ten or twelve crystals set carefully on a pillow of red velvet. Deciding to look at them later, Hermione walked to the back wall were a simple wooden box was set on a low table. She gasped when she opened the lid, inside lay Godric Gryffindor's wand, she could almost hear the magic in it, she could certainly _see_ it, but to hear it, that was new. It was made of a dark chestnut wood and had a lion, griffin and phoenix carved into it's handle, reverently she reached in and picked up the simple wooden stick. As soon as she had the wand in her grasp, red and gold sparks flew from the wand, filled the entire vault and spilled out into the great cavern of Gringotts. _Well, I guess the wand accepts me._ She thought as an annoyed goblin poked his head in with a frown. With a shrug, Hermione left the vault, she would come back to test out the crystals, look through and copy the books, and catalog the contents of the vault later. She moved on to vault number two.

Rowena's vault was only slightly larger than Gryffindor's and that was mostly because of the plethora of books and racks of delicate magical artifacts. She left most everything alone and just headed straight to the back of the vault where she saw another plain box, the same sort of magic flowed out when she opened it. The simple wand was made of rich mahogany and the handle had a carving of a raven in flight with other, smaller animals scattered around. When she touched it, blue and bronze sparks flooded out and formed the shapes of ten ravens. _I think this one accepts me too._ Then she placed both wands in her palm, holding them together, they twisted around each other and then melted into one single wand. It was exactly the same length and width of Hermione's own wand, the two woods were spiraled around exactly once.

In Salazar's vault, Hermione decided to look into the statue's eyes and take his gift. After all, she would need Parseltongue to go say hello to 'Harriet' in the Chamber of Secrets, which actually only had one secret; a huge-ass Basilisk.

Hermione walked over to the large basilisk statue, took a deep breath, and looked directly into its eyes. Suddenly, it felt like some one had dunked only her head in ice water, like she had just gotten the worst possible case of brain freeze. Then, the knowledge started pouring in. Hermione knew that if she decided to jump off the Astronomy tower she would end up flying, this didn't do anything for her extreme distaste for flying in general. Even if she knew she wouldn't fall, she still didn't like it. Then, out of the blue she started singing the alphabet song in what she knew to be Parseltongue quickly followed by the same song only in roars, bellows and growls, which she guessed was Draconian, by some miracle she found that her voice wasn't hoarse from being used in such a...foreign way. The poor goblin looked like he wished he _hadn't_ taken the early shift that morning. Then came the transformations, in rapid succession her body cycled through hundreds of different snake forms, she was left panting and feeling like she had just completed the longest most drawn out apparation. _Thanks SO much Salazar, just what I wanted; a hundred Animagus forms in under a minute. Lovely._ Before she had time to fully process this, her head started to feel like it was splitting open, she could feel something behind her eyes rearranging itself. When the pain receded and she peeled one eyelid up she found that she could zoom her vision in and out, it was the weirdest sensation but now she had telescoping vision. _Handy._ She blinked twice and it 'turned off' so to say. What Hermione didn't know was that in those few moments her eyes looked like Dragon Eyes, they had vertical pupils and were an unbelievable kaleidescope of brilliant blue and green. But the gifts weren't done, she felt a slight tingle in her fingers and got the impression that it would be rather difficult (but not impossible) to make a mistake in potions from now on. Hermione felt a few other things settle into her mind and a few small adjustments made to her temperament, for example, she felt her mischievous streak being added to.

Hermione dropped to the floor of the vault and tried to catch her breath, "Fucking Salazar Slytherin! He probably made that as difficult as possible! Goddammit, I feel like I got run over by a train and then trampled by the entire world population of Hippogriffs!" Still swearing a blue streak at Founders with bad senses of humor, she approached the box with his wand. _Do I really want to try and pick this up?_ She asked herself, _It might be extremely dangerous to my health._ Shrugging of the feeling of impending doom, Hermione opened the box and felt the familiar magic wash over her. She was quite surprised to see that his wand was a very light coloured maple wood, history implied that it was extremely dark, _Hmm, yet another thing they got wrong_. The carving on the handle was both expected and unexpected, there were the obligatory snakes, but there was also a dragon worked in. There was more to Slytherin than an evil, dark, slimy, snake lover, who would've known? When Hermione picked it up, a snake didn't come out, she was just about to put it away and back away slowly when bright green words formed in the air.

_'Ha! Scared you! In my letter I said you could have the wand but only if it produced a snake. Well, that's boring so I made this a bit more...interesting. I hope you already looked at the statue, if not, you've got about five minutes.'_

"Ahh, SHIT!" Hermione yelled, this was _not_ going to end well. A clock appeared and started counting down from five minutes, 4:59, 4:58, 4:57...0:02, 0:01, 0:00, then some more words came out of the wand.

_'You'll probably want to get out of the vault and into the caverns right about now...'_

Hermione didn't even bother to try and guess what might happen, she just ran. As soon as she reached the cavern she yelled at the goblin to get back, and he did so just in time. A massive dragon came out of the wand, and not in sparks or magicky swirls or anything, this was an honest to goodness conjured dragon. It flew around for a few minutes before perching on an imagined _something_, it was a good thing that Hermione had 'learned' Draconian because otherwise she wouldn't have been able to understand what was going on.

(A/N: **Bold is the conjured Dragon**)

"**Who are you that wants to claim the noble, genius, honourable...blah blah blah. Salazar Slytherin's wand?"**

Hermione swallowed, "Hermione Granger, Heir of Hogwarts."

"**Well isn't that good for you. Why do you want the wand? Power? Riches? Fame?"**

"Um, no. I'm kinda working on putting it together with the other Founders' wands. I'm going to use it to prevent the future from ever happening, or I'm going to try. I'm not going to lie, the money and power would be nice, but fame? Nah, you can keep that."

"**Interesting answer, what is your view on breaking the rules?"**

"Ha! You asked me this when I helped create Hellion, that's Salazar the Poltergeist, by the way. I'm perfectly happy to break the rules. I'm breaking every single time travel rule, and currently planning a prank war of sorts."

"**Perfect! You can have the wand!"**

"Really?"

"**Sure. Just don't go and try to rule the world or kill everyone or something. That's bad form."**

"Um, okay. Oh, I have a quick question. Why did Salazar make you a dragon and not a snake? Wasn't he all about the snakes?"

"**That's a common misconception. Salazar actually liked dragons more, but snakes were easier to control and he made it a hobby of his to scare Godric. Godric was more afraid of snakes than dragons. Anyway, snakes gave Salazar a more mysterious air; dragons are all powerful and dramatic, snakes are sneaky and quiet. He was a funny one, Salazar was."**

"Okay, thanks." And with that, the dragon exploded in a shower of green and silver, ten seconds later, every single dragon in the bank (there were actually only three but the effect was the same) roared their greetings to the first Dragon Speaker in hundreds of years. The goblin acquainted himself with the floor.

"Right." Hermione said as she closed the door to Slytherin's vault, she would come back later to see what _other_ booby traps he had included. Finally she reached Hufflepuff's vault. When she walked into the middle of the room and stood in front of the Jade pillar she watched as the left wall shimmered and faded away to reveal row upon row of jars of seeds. Each jar was neatly labeled and had a small notebook filled with information about the plant. Hermione was floored, this was amazing, it was probably better than any of the other contents in the other vaults. This was preserved history, soon to be _living_ history. She vowed that one of the first things she'd do as the Heir of Hogwarts and Guardian of the Founders Hall, would be to expand the greenhouses, she would build as many as they would need to grow each and every plant in this vault. Even if it meant creating an entire village of greenhouses to hold every plant in the world, she would do it. With that promise, Hermione turned to Helga's wand; the box emitted the same powerful magic as the others did. The wand was a honey oak wood and the handle had a beautiful design of vines on it. As she picked it up the entire vault was filled with flowers of all sorts, some of which Hermione had never seen before. They only lasted a second and soon faded away, but that was all Hermione needed to know that the wand had accepted her. When she had all the wands in her hand, she watched, transfixed as they twisted and turned around each other before forming one wand. But it didn't feel complete. Hermione drew her own wand and laid it next to the one made of the Founders' ones, it twisted in as well. The finished product was beautiful, the five woods had melted together in a way that you could only tell there were different woods when the light hit it just right, otherwise it just looked like a medium brown wood with an interesting, multicoloured grain. But upon closer inspection you would see that what looked like the grain was actually five different woods that completed one full twist before being attached to a handle made of the vine wood that her original wand was made of. The handle was carved with a lion, raven, snake and badger. There were smaller more intricate carvings of other animals and the very end of the handle was ringed by a tiny vine. It was probably the most beautiful wand Hermione had ever seen, it also solved the potential problem of having two identical wands in use at the same time.

Hermione twirled the wand through her fingers and a huge jet of sparks raced out of it, forming a lion, snake, badger and raven which ran/slithered/flew around the vault once, before dashing out the door.

_This is going to be interesting._ Hermione thought as she wandlessly woke the goblin up, she knew that this wand was probably the most powerful to have ever existed, and didn't want to try to cast anything with it until she was positive that she could control it properly. The last thing she needed was a goblin that was so hyped up from 'enervate' that he never slept again.

With a quick 'Thank you' to the goblin, Hermione returned to the school. She arrived just in time for lunch.

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><p>Lily squinted at Hermione, "Hermione, did you know that you have blue and green streaks in your eyes?"<p>

"WHAT?" Hermione gasped as she conjured a small mirror – she would have conjured a bigger one but she still didn't want to use her 'new' wand and conjuration was difficult to do wandlessly – and looked at her eyes. Sure enough, her soft brown eyes were now heavily streaked with brilliant blue and striking green. "Fuck." She muttered.

Remus and Sirius frowned at Hermione, "Um, what's with the swearing?" Remus asked.

"Yeah, I mean, I'm all for having a colourful vocabulary, but there's usually a reason for it's use."

Hermione sighed and locked eyes with Remus. "Take a look for yourself."

"Okay...what did you do to your eyes?" Remus asked.

Sirius pushed his head in front of Remus' face, "What, what is it?" Then he noticed, "Damn, that's awesome. How did you do that? I've never found an eye colour changing spell that gives you streaks!"

"Well...I wanted to see what I would look like with green eyes, but I think I changed my mind at the very last minute and wanted blue ones. I guess this is what happens." Hermione said carefully, it sounded plausible enough to her.

"Why didn't you just change them back?" James asked. "I mean, they're cool and all but also a bit strange.

"I tried." Hermione said. "If you want to try again, be my guest. It took me quite a while to like my brown eyes but I've become rather fond of them."

James took a try at reversing the spell (or whatever the hell Salazar had used), then Remus, then Lily, then Sirius.

"Wow." Sirius said after they'd all tried. "I guess you're stuck with cool eyes for the rest of your life. Or at least until the effects wear off."

Somehow Hermione highly doubted that her eyes would ever go back to normal, and the rest of her life? The letter in the Founders' Hall basically said that she could live as long as she wanted. "I guess I'll get used to them eventually."

Hermione spent the rest of the afternoon in the Room of Requirement learning how to control her new wand, it was easier than she thought it would be, which basically meant that instead of exploding _everything_ she only blew up half of it. The first thing she tried was the basic levitating spell, on none other than a feather – now that brought back memories – what happened the first time was that it ended up carving a trench in the ceiling. The second time it embedded itself in the rock. The third time it just rocketed around the room. But the fourth time it only crashed into the ceiling. This continued until, on attempt number nine, Hermione managed to levitate it slowly and properly. After this trial and error session with the feather, Hermione got much better and it only took three hours for her to hone her control to the point where everything worked the way it should

Later that evening Lily and Remus cornered Hermione in the common room, "Okay, so how exactly did you get those eyes?" Remus asked. "I know you went to Gringotts to do something with the Founders' vaults. What happened?"

Hermione sighed, "Meet up in the Hall tomorrow morning, it's Sunday so people won't be up for a while. Say, six?" They groaned but agreed nonetheless.

Bright and early Sunday morning, Hermione showed Lily and Remus the letters from each of the Founders and told them all about her visit to their vaults. She showed them the wand, but they were smart enough to know that touching it would be a _very bad _idea. They were both suitably impressed to hear about Draconian and the fact that Salazar was just as connected to dragons as he was to snakes. He just liked to be sneaky and it's rather hard to carry a dragon around, so publicly, he was associated with snakes. Lily thought it was hilarious that part of Salazar's reasoning was because Godric was afraid of snakes, she laughed for five minutes straight. Remus wanted to drop everything and drag Hermione to the nearest dragon reserve to have a chat with them. They quickly figured out that Hermione's eyes were a side-effect of her dragon/snake sight, which they thought was amazing too. It also meant that 'yes', Hermione was stuck was blue and green streaked eyes for however long she decided to live.

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><p>Author's note: There it it, I hope you liked it! Thanks so much for all of your reviews, I love getting them. I will have the next chapter up in a few hours.<p> 


	19. Dueling

**Preventing the Future**

**Chapter Nineteen - Dueling**

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><p>Disclaimer: I don't hold any claim over the Harry Potter world. In fact, I don't have any claim on <em>any<em> world.

Author's note: I know the whole dueling thing is cliché but it seems like something the 7th years would do, especially with the war looming and all that. Anyway, here is what was supposed to be two pages at the end of chapter 18. As you can tell, I got a bit carried away. Enjoy!

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><p>Monday morning started on an extremely high note for the NEWT level DADA students, their professor, a semi-retired auror announced the beginning of a dueling competition.<p>

"Okay, listen up class." The DADA teacher said. "Due to the deteriorating political climate, I have decided to drop theory and move on to dueling." Whispers broke out around the classroom, duels? They'd never been allowed to duel before, sure, they knew how and had plenty of spells they could use, but they'd never been allowed to use them in a classroom before." Most of the students looked excited, some were scared, and Hermione was smirking. Snape and a few other Slytherin guys were mirroring Hermione's expression, but even Sirius looked more excited.

Remus jabbed James in the ribs, "Hey mate, look at Hermione, Snape and those Slytherins."

James looked between his archenemy, the Slytherins and his new friend, "Oh dear. This might get messy."

Sirius moved his gaze to see what had caught James and Remus' attention. "Well that can't be good."

Lily shivered in anticipation, "This is going to be so interesting!" Then she saw Hermione. "Um, Hermione? You're looking a bit um, vindictive."

"Don't worry, I won't kill anyone. I'm pretty sure I've kicked that guy's ass before, I don't remember if it was permanent or not...but whatever, I get to do it again!" Hermione said with a smirk, pointing at one of the other Slytherins. "And I've always wanted to duel Snape!"

"What do you mean?" Lily asked, "Even though you haven't told me in as many words but I'm pretty sure he was a Death Eater in the future, at least for a while. Wouldn't you have fought him at some point? You seem to have dueled everyone."

"True, but he's an exception. He turned spy towards the end of the first war, but no one knew it. Then, to keep his cover, in case Riddle face ever came back, he became the greasy git who taught potions, he defected permanently to our side as soon as the second round of heavy fighting broke out. As a student I couldn't exactly fight a teacher, then there was a slight pause before the real fighting started. When it did, he was back with us." Hermione explained.

"Oh. So why have you wanted to duel him all this time? I've seen him fight a few times, mostly in retaliation to something the boys have done, and it's nothing too special. I mean, he's good, but I wouldn't call him great." Lily replied, feeling a little bad about insulting Severus, but figured the insults were worth the explanation Hermione would give.

"You have no idea. He is amazing, I don't know if I told you, but he was one of the 11 of us who made it to the very end." Hermione answered. "He really is a force to be reckoned with when he gets into it. That's the key, you have to convince him to break out."

"Right. I think I'll leave that to you." Lily said. "Anyway, if you're fighting him, you have less time to fight me, and I'm not too keen on being on the receiving end of your wand when it's at full offensive."

Hermione laughed, "Good Merlin, I'm not going to go all out. Do you want to have to rebuild the entire classroom, and all the ones around it? Didn't think so."

Lily rolled her eyes, "I'm sure you're good, but decimating the classroom? This is the DADA room, it's super-reinforced or something."

"Um, yeah. This wand and these kids as opponents, even the baby Death Munchers? Yeah, if I went all out, classroom decimation would definitely be on the menu." Hermione said this with such conviction that Lily couldn't do anything but believe her. Then the teacher called their attention back.

"Okay, I want these to be as fair fights as possible, so I'm going to gage your power and skill level. When I call your name, you will go into that room, there's a dummy and a list of offensive spells in there. Cast as many of the spells as you can at the dummy and any others you know. A number from one to a hundred will appear on my sheet. Next class I will split you up in three groups and we'll get started. Any questions?"

"What if we're a lot higher than anyone else? Do we get a group of our own?" One of the cocky Slytherins called from the back.

The teacher rolled her eyes, "In the extremely unlikely case that that happens, you'll just go in the highest group and you'll win." She started calling names and they went into the small room one by one. After class ended, the teacher stopped Hermione.

"Miss Granger. Please stay back."

"Yes?"

"You held back. I may not be the greatest teacher but I'm a damn good auror, and I can tell when you don't do your best. So, here's the dummy, go again." The teacher said with a scowl, "And if you hold back again you get detention for a month and lose a hundred house points. Just a stunner will be fine, I believe your spell knowledge was accurate enough."

Just outside the door, the boys and Lily had their ears pressed up to the door. They didn't notice at the time, but Lily's head was tucked against James' chest, and James' breath was slowly moving Lily's hair. It could have been worse though, Peter's face was in Sirius' stomach and Remus' knee was pressing against Peter's back. But again, they were all way too focused on listening in on the conversation for any of this to register. They all also had a single thought, _Hermione, don't you dare lose us that many points!_

"Yes ma'am." Hermione said. "But um, how much do you value that dummy?"

The teacher frowned, "I doubt it will come to any harm with a stunner, but I can conjure and charm another in less than five minutes."

"Good. Stupefy." She said clearly but softly and waved the wand properly.

The teacher gasped. "Well, that's just, um... 72 is really spectacular, the highest recorded is 88 and the class record was 75 and I happen to know that student has been training since he was a boy. However, as unbelievable as that is, I know for a fact that the others were _shouting_ the incantation and actually waving the wand. Do I need to threaten you again?"

Hermione sighed, "Okay, fine. Just step back and move anything valuable, okay?" The teacher did so and Hermione screamed, "_STUPEFY_!" The was a small explosion that rattled the entire room, followed by a massive crash.

"You- you- you blew up my dummy! You can't blow it up! You just can't..." The teacher said faintly. "Fucking Merlin's ball sacs!" She screamed when she went to inspect the floor, reminding Hermione (and the eavesdroppers), that she was first and foremost an auror. "You cracked the floor!"

With a shrug, Hermione said, "I did warn you."

"You blew it up, with a stunner." She said faintly. "No one blows it up with stupefy; bombarda _**maxima**_ maybe, but...damn girl."

Hermione put her hands up, "Hey, don't blame me."

"It was your spell, who else can I blame?" The teacher retorted.

"Blame the wand, it's custom." (Lily and Remus snorted, _'Custom' my ass, more like priceless artifact that just happens to like you._) Hermione said with crooked grin. "Well, that, and I've had a bit of practice."

"Somehow I get the feeling that there's more to the story than that. But I'm also pretty sure I don't want to know. Anyway, now I understand why you were holding back. Is it too much to ask that you not maim anyone?"

"No, it's not too much. I wasn't planning on trying to win anyway, it wouldn't be fair to the students who are learning this stuff." Hermione said with a shrug.

"Now see, I think I'm going to have to disagree with you there, you're powerful, that much is a given, and you have really good control to be able to hold back like that. I expect to you win. I don't care whether you learned this here or somewhere else but I expect all my students to try their best. Obviously you'll be in the top group, you'll be interested to know that you are the only girl there, I was rather disappointed when I saw it was all guys, now they have some proper competition. Those students will probably fight dirty though, well, most of them. I don't know about Black, I've heard of his family but he seems different. Still, watch your back."

"Hey, just out of curiosity, who else is in that group?" Hermione asked, she knew that the boys and Lily were just outside the door, and thought they would appreciate knowing.

"Well, I probably shouldn't tell you but I guess it doesn't really matter. Let's see, you'll be with Snape, Constantine, Pillmore, Salnian, Durian, Harvenstone and Black, They're all Slytherins except for Harvenstone and Black, they're Ravenclaw and Gryffindor respectively. It should be interesting, please make sure not to kill anyone. I know all about the house rivalries, this isn't revenge time. But between me and you, Constantine and Salnian could do with an ego deflation."

Hermione grinned and winked, "Don't worry, I'll play fair." The teacher responded with a small smile, they both knew that 'fair' was relevant, playing 'fair' for the Slytherins actually meant getting down and dirty. The teacher retreated to her office and Hermione headed for the door, she pulled it open really fast and was rewarded with a tangle of protesting limbs. "Hey guys, enjoy the conversation?"

As they all righted themselves and fixed their clothing (Lily once again wondered how she managed to get through the first six years of schooling without embarrassing herself, boxer shorts were an amazing invention).

"We, um" "It wasn't-" "We weren't-" "Didn't mean-"

"Oh come on, it's lunch time."

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><p>Wednesday couldn't have come soon enough for the seventh years in DADA, they flooded the room as soon as the door opened. The were quickly disappointed to find out that they would be going group by group, starting from the bottom and working up through the three groups. Unfortunately this didn't mean the rest of the class could slack off, no, they had to pick three duels of the day, take notes on them and then write a half foot essay detailing the spells and tactics used for each duel and how they could have been improved.<p>

Monday would be group one and they would start in on group two as well because group one was smaller than number two, it was the people who lacked 'oomph' behind their spells and movements (ie. Peter). There were only 12 students in this groups and their duels didn't last very long. The winner was given a small pack of butterbeer. Then they started on the first round for the middle group; there were 16 students in the group, so even though there were four duels going on at a time, they only barely finished the first round in time for the bell. For a dueling session it went fairly well, out of the 28 students who dueled, only 13 needed medical attention. James, Remus and Lily were all in the second group and they all won their fights, this didn't mean anything yet though, the rounds were set up in a 'two strikes and you're out' manner, you had two lives and then you're dead. So they really didn't know where they stood. The only thing they knew was that they'd each get at least two more duels.

By the end of Wednesday, the middle group had been narrowed down to six finalists which included James, Remus and Lily. If James hadn't loved Lily before this, he certainly did now; the first duel he lost was to her, his expression was priceless and Sirius had to whack him on the head to kick-start his brain so he could keep hold of the wand Lily was trying to hand him. At this point, all three of the friends were down to one life...and they had to wait until Friday to find out who won. Needless to say, Thursday was a rather tense day. It was a good think that DADA was the last class of the day on Friday, because everyone got the feeling that this would take a lot longer than two hours.

The first duel on Friday was between Lily and Remus, none of the friends knew who to cheer for so they all put silencing charms on themselves and watched. Remus won and in the next round he was set to go against a nasty guy from Slytherin, who hadn't lost a duel yet. As soon as the Marauders saw that guy's name come up next to Remus' they all looked like they wanted to ditch the wands and rip him to pieces with their bare hands. Because they were still waiting for other duels to finish, and the next round wouldn't start for five minutes, Hermione decided to find out what was going on with this guy and the Marauders.

"Is there something we should know?" Hermione asked James quietly, he just looked at Remus, trying to communicate wordlessly, the message seemed to have gotten across.

Remus pulled Lily and Hermione into a corner. "I'm pretty sure that you already know this, especially you, Hermione, but I've got a 'furry little problem' that makes itself known once a month. You know what I mean?"

Lily smiled sadly, "Yeah, I figured it out at the end of second year." Remus really didn't look surprised at this.

Hermione just shrugged, "Consider me omnipotent."

"Right. Anyway, that guy's father, he works for the ministry, in an extremely unofficial capacity, as a werewolf hunter."

"WHAT?" Hermione hissed. "That's not even legal!"

Remus grimaced, "I know, but he still does it."

Lily got a determined look on her face, "Remus, you had damn well better try your best to send him to the Hospital Wing. You're allowed to do anything except the unforgivables, you put him in a coma if you have to!"

"Oh, I plan on it." The amber in Remus' eyes brightened, and the girls were reminded of the wolf he became every month. "That bastard is going down."

Unfortunately, Remus wasn't able to maim the guy, but he did beat the shit out of him, securing Remus a place in the top three. The Slytherin hobbled off the platform and was patched up by an irate-looking medi-witch. Remus just smirked, he had come out unscathed. The grins on the Marauders faces widened when they saw that James was up against the Slytherin in 10 minutes. By now, the guy was down to one life, and even though they'd never said it, the friends all knew that James was a better dueler than Remus. Sure enough, 15 minutes later, the progeny of a werewolf hunter was unconscious and bleeding ("Honestly, it was only a blasting curse") and James was grinning; there was nothing like revenge to make you fight better. Then the finals arrived and James was up against Remus; they bowed, grinned, and then fought like bats out of hell. It was spectacular and, as predicted, James won.

Then came the group everyone had been waiting for, the high powered ones. It didn't escape anyone's attention that there was only one girl and that six of the eight were from old, dark families. It seemed that for the purposes of these duels, Sirius was 'Black', not Sirius Black. Hermione wasn't sure where Harvenstone, the Ravenclaw came from but it was possible he was just a really good fighter.

"Okay, listen up guys, this group is small so there'll only be two round of four duels a round, then one of three, the rest will be done individually so you can all see what's going on." She tapped her wand to the board and the lists for the first two rounds came up. "And first up we have Granger and Pillmore!"

The first round was both very long, and very short. Hermione ended her fight with Pillmore in less than 30 seconds, the lesson learned there was not to try flashy complicated spells. Sirius, Snape and one of the Slytherins the teacher had warned them about, Salnian, all won their first duel and 'Black' was paired up with 'The Girl' in the second round.

Sirius gulped as he approached the platform.

"Um, Hermione?"

"Yes dearest?" Hermione responded with a sickly sweet smile.

"Please don't maim me." Sirius pleaded.

"Okay." Then she whispered to him before they were going to get up, "How long would you like to fight for? I can hold back a bit more at the beginning if you'd like a good fight."

Sirius thought about it for a moment. "Um, well, I don't really know. How about two minutes? Do you think I can last that long?"

Hermione choked at the double meaning. "I'll give you one and a half and then I'm going all out." She hopped up and when they got to the middle of the platform she grinned at him. "Hit me with your best shot!"

The duel lasted exactly one minute and 50 seconds, at first Sirius seemed to be doing okay but then they realised that Hermione was just dodging everything, she continued this for another ten seconds before finally getting into the fight. Once she started fighting closer to her full potential (but nowhere _actually_ near it), Sirius put up a good fight. But it was pretty obvious Sirius never had a chance, it ended amicably and Sirius didn't have to be carted off to the hospital wing. Because their fight was over so quickly and painlessly, they got to watch the rest of their group's fights; Hermione's previous partner was being slaughtered by Constantine, and Sirius' was barely winning his duel against Salnian. But what really caught their attention was Snape's duel, he was up against a kid named Durian. To the casual observer it looked like they were fairly eavenly matched and neither really had the upper hand, but if you knew what to look for, you could see that Snape was just playing with his opponent. The teacher knew what to look for.

"Snape!" She yelled. "This is your first and last warning!" Most of the class looked around in confusion, warning? He was in the middle of a _duel_, what was there to warn about? The smarter ones figured it out seconds later when Snape casually froze Durian and plucked his wand from between his fingers. "Do I need to remind you that this is a _serious_ activity?" The teacher asked coldly.

"No, ma'am. It won't happen again." Snape said without his trademark sneer.

When the second round finished; two people were out, Snape and Hermione were undefeated and the other four were down to one life. Everyone looked up at the board and Sirius looked both excited and terrified when he saw his next partner was Snape, Snape looked like he finally realised what Christmas meant. Their fight was long and intense, Hermione wished she would have been able to see the start of it, but by the time she had unceremoniously dumped an extremely embarrassed Ravenclaw off the platform and returned his wand, it was already in full swing. The rest of it though, that was impressive. Both boys, no, _men_, were fighting with everything they had (or so it seemed), they were fairly evenly matched and spells flew thick and fast. Hermione was pleased to note that they didn't completely rely on shields, they were dodging a fair number of attacks. However, it was fairly clear that Snape was the better dueler, he finished Black in under three minutes and Sirius went to sit with the rest of his friends, nursing a burn and missing his eyebrows. The final fight of the third round was between Salnian and Constantine, and their fight was getting nasty. As the minutes passed, the spells got darker and darker, some bordering on the illegal. They were snarling and looked ready to kill, the teacher was about to intervene when Salnian screamed and dropped his wand, all the skin had been ripped off his hand. Constantine was given a week of detention for using a restricted dark curse, and warned that if he did it again he would be facing a suspension. He just shrugged and asked 'Who's next?'

By this time, there were four people left in the group, two were undefeated and the others were down to one life. Hermione couldn't believe her luck when she heard she was dueling Constantine and Snape was dueling Salnian, she would be fighting Snape in the finals! This was better than she could have hoped. Hermione and Constantine would be going first, to give Salnian time to recover. Because they were down to one duel at a time, everyone grabbed a chair and gathered around to watch. Constantine's smug expression barely covered a glint behind his eyes which was one part conceit and another part malice, Hermione knew this look, it was the look of a budding Death Eater. She let a bit her own emotions flow into her eyes as they met in the middle of the platform, a bit of humor but a whole lot of steely danger. They bowed and exchanged pleasantries.

"Constantine." Hermione said curtly.

"Girl." He replied rudly. "I'll have you know, that unlike my other competetors, I don't care if you're a girl or not. A Mudblood like yourself doesn't belong here, and girl or not, I'm going to make you wish you stayed in the filthy Muggle world.

Hermione scowled, "Big words. I'll see you in a week."

Confusion spread across his face. "What?"

With a smirk Hermione replied, "Maybe, if you play nice, I'll only put you out for a few days."

Constantine growled, "Bitch." And he strode to the end of the platform.

"Whatever you say." Hermione muttered as she walked to her end.

Snape watched the new girl taunt the guy who had just cursed the skin off a classmate and wondered what the hell she was doing. Constantine was dark, just about as dark as they come, Snape knew that he could beat the guy, but _he_ was the best dueler around. And he wasn't just saying that, despite the fact that the teacher had told him to stop playing with his opponents, he was still holding back, he hadn't even put it all into his fight with Black. He just liked fighting too much to end it early, this Granger girl was asking for her fight to end early, and painfully.

Hermione heard the teacher count down to the start of the duel, at 'zero', she whipped a few lower level hexes at the cocky guy in front of her and he retaliated with a string of very dark ones. She sighed, it was a pity he was on the other side of the war, he had potential. _Oh well._ She swatted each of his curses out of the air before they even covered half the distance between them. A minute later, Constantine was lying spread-eagle on the floor, invisible ropes holding him in place. He was out cold. Hermione walked over and pulled his wand out of his hand, "I'll take that. You know, you really should have played nice. But like I said, see you in a week. Actually, it'll probably be more like a week and a half. I got a bit carried away."

_Holy shit!_ Snape yelled in his mind as his (and everyone else's) jaws dropped. His assessment of Granger had been severely lacking, she was...well, he had no idea but she was good. He knew she was smart and observant. And she must have had some sort of connections because of their little meeting at the beginning of the year, but never in his wildest imaginings, would he have guessed she could fight.

The medi-witch screeched and raced onto the platform but Hermione placed a hand on the panicking woman's shoulder. "Ma'am, he's just unconscious, he will probably wake up in a week or so."

"A WEEK?" The poor lady screamed. "You knocked him out for a WEEK? Holy mother of Merlin I don't know what I'm going to do with all you children." She levitated Constantine's body off the platform and out the door.

"Well, that was interesting." The teacher said, to a silent classroom.

Sirius grinned, he had summoned his camera right after Snape knocked him out of the competition, he knew that the last few fights were going to be good and he couldn't let that opportunity go to waste. "I have a picture..." People started rushing over to him, a picture of the pompous Vanni Constantine laid spread-eagle on the floor, wasn't something they were going to let pass up.

"Students! You can order pictures later, we still have two more duels. Snape and Salnian, and Granger and the winner, so sit down and shut up!" Everyone went silent as Snape and the other Slytherin took to the platform. Snape decided that he would hold his tricks for when he went against Granger, he just wanted this fight over so he dueled fast and furiously. Salnian seemed to have lost his taste for dark spells and wasn't trying to maim, he was just trying to win, not that that helped him much. The duel was over in four minutes; it wasn't a particularly memorable fight, it wasn't flashy or complicated, it was just fast. Snape ended it with a very boring disarming spell. Many people were grumbling when it finished, they had been hoping for a show, they just got a fight. Then the bell rang, signaling the end of classes for the week; no one moved, they weren't going to miss the final duel.

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><p>Snape looked at Hermione. Hermione looked at Snape. They both nodded and Hermione went to talk with her friends for a few minutes to let Snape recover a bit. Snape watched as Granger walked over to the insufferable group of Gryffindors, he almost wanted to beat her just to annoy them, but then he realised that winning wasn't a given this time. In all his other duels, he had been able to play around with his opponent, he hadn't had to do much to win. This time though, he had a feeling that he'd have to actually try, he grinned (mentally, of course), <em>Finally, a challenge!<em>

Hermione had seen the efficiency that Snape used to deal with Salnian, it had been obvious that he was holding back all day, but she never realised just exactly how much. She looked down at her super special wand and wished that she could have _her_ wand for this match, she wanted to test herself against Snape, not her wand against Snape's wand. She knew she would win either way but she wanted to give him a fighting chance to save face. With a soft 'pop', her wand disentangled itself from the Founders', Hermione nearly dropped both sticks, _That would have been nice to know a while ago!_ She tucked the Founders' wand into her arm holster and held her old, faithful vine wand in her hand as she walked up.

The teacher combined and transfigured all the desks and chairs into a set of raised bleachers so everyone could watch the showdown between what were (if previous duels and year level were anything to go by) the two best duelers in the student population of Hogwarts. While everyone rushed to get the best (aka top) seats the teacher reiterated the rules.

"Snape, Granger." The teacher said. "This is an 'anything goes' duel, but nothing illegal and preferablly nothing deadly. Try not to send the other to the infirmary, I don't think the medi-witch will ever let me do this again if one of you get badly hurt, we have enough injuries as it is." She shook both their hands, "Good luck, fight fair."

As soon as both she and Snape were alone on the platform, Hermione cast an impenetrable shield around it, followed by a silencing charm.

Snape noticed. "What are you doing?"

"Keeping them out. We don't need them to know our exact skill level, I often cast wordlessly and I have a feeling you'd do it too, but only if people didn't know you could. I've made it to they can't see what we're saying, if we say anything at all. It's best to have a few tricks up your sleeve." Hermione said simply.

"So why should I show my tricks now?"

"Because I want a good fight in a controlled environment."

Snape wondered, not for the first time, who Granger was. He had taken what she said at the start of term at face value, and not questioned it much beyond that. If she was asking for a good fight in a 'controlled environment', that could only mean one thing; she had fought in _un_controlled environments. And knowing which side she was – or rather, wasn't – on, he deduced that she had fought Death Eaters.

"You've fought them, haven't you?" He asked.

Hermione gave a small smile, "I have no idea what you're talking about."

Snape translated that to mean 'Yes, but get the fuck out of my business.' "Of course you don't. If I agree to fight all out, will you? Unlike you, I haven't actually had a chance to test myself."

"I believe I can do that. So, fight with everything?" Hermione summed up.

"Everything goes, except unforgivables. Agreed?"

"Agreed." Hermione said, shaking Snape's offered hand. "Let's give them something to remember."

Then they whipped around and took up positions at either end of the platform.

The classroom was in uproar, teacher included; Hermione had put an unknown version of the impenetrable shield around the dueling platform, silenced the area and then started talking to Snape! Then they had _shook_ _hands_, and looked _satisfied!_ When everyone finally realised that there was nothing they could do but sit back and watch, they did so.

Hermione conjured a bright red countdown that hovered between the two duelers, when it hit zero, there was a moment that could have lasted a lifetime, and then the spells started flying.

They both started with a solid string of offensive spells followed immediately by a strong shield, both their shields came up before the other's spells arrived. Hermione's shield was slightly different from Snape's, it didn't reflect or deflect the spells, instead it trapped them and then curled in on itself and went flying at Snape. Snape saw the strange shield/spell coming and did the smart thing; he dove to the floor. On the way down, he retaliated with series of blasting curses aimed at Hermione's feet. Hermione saw the curses coming and instead of blocking them, or moving out of the way, she sent her own blasting curses right at the ones headed her way. When the two sets of curses collided with one another, Hermione's drove Snape's into the platform creating a deep trench that streatched all the way to where Snape had been laying mere seconds ago. The platform buckled, cracked and started falling apart, loudly. Between the sounds of the still flying spells and the platform's complaints, Hermione knew Snape wouldn't be able to hear her if she yelled. Reluctantly revealing her Legimacy skills, Hermione spoke in Snape's mind while still trading spells, curses and hexes.

"Snape! I'm going to vanish it!" She yelled into Snape's mind, while putting up a strong shield.

"What the hell are you doing in my head?" Snape bellowed in return, following his response with another barrage of curses, he fired them in a random, rapid pattern, trying to break Granger's concentration.

Hermione conjured a group of snakes to eat all the spells, which they did before bursting into thousands of magical sparks that stung severely upon contact with skin. "This platform is falling apart, I'm going to vanish it, jump on 'three'. One. Two. Three!" It only took a millisecond for Hermione to note that Snape had jumped, and then she vanished the entire dueling platform.

* * *

><p>Everyone in the bleachers watched as hundreds of spells flew around inside the shield Hermione had erected. They were both extremely glad for the shield and extremely annoyed with it, on the one hand, some of the spells looked like they would have made it past the regular duel shield but on the other hand, they couldn't hear a single sound. This resulted in a <em>completely<em> silent DADA classroom, the silence was punctured by collective gasps, screams, cheers and other reactionary crowd noices. One Slytherin girl screeched extremely loud when Hermione's shield balled up and raced towards Snape, this caught the attention of an extremely worried Professor McGonagall and an excited Professor Flitwick who were passing by. They walked into the room and were floored by the sight that greeted them; a dramatic explosion hit the middle of a dueling platform and it started falling apart. They saw the shield and worried teacher and realised that they couldn't do anything, so they watched instead.

The entire crowd screamed when a few moments later, both duelers jumped and the whole platform just disappeared! This brought a group of Slytherin sixth years, who were on their way to lunch, into the room, they just stared at the girl – the gender was only identifiable because of the braid – who was locked (literally) in battle with their very own Severus Snape. They didn't even bother to hide their intense interest as proper Slytherins should, they just joined the others on the bleachers which had been absentmindedly extended by Professor McGonagall.

* * *

><p>As soon as the platform was successfully vanished – this didn't say anything about the rubble it left behind – Hermione retreated from Snape's mind and they continued on as if nothing had happened. Hermione had to say, it was nice to fight just one person, the fact that they weren't trying to kill her was just a bonus.<p>

Snape admitted that he was impressed, very impressed. Granger had not only gotten into his mind, but carried on an intelligible conversation and a fight at the same time. Vanishing the platform was just plain talent, not to mention cool. Snape took a risk and split his concentration, while he kept up a solid string of spells he also gathered a bunch of the rubble and whipped it towards Granger's face. Hermione grinned when she saw what Snape was doing, she could have taken the opportunity to finish him off but she was having way too much fun to do that. Instead, as she blocked the spells, she wandlessly summoned one of the larger pieces of debris and widened it so it was more like a solid tennis racket. When Snape's rubble flew at her face, Hermione transfigured it into miniature dragons, swung the racket and threw the now animated debris back at Snape. Snape barely managed to vanish the dragons before they arrived. The two fighters traded spells back and forth for the next minute or so, casting and shielding, throwing, dodging and jumping. Then Hermione took a strong offensive and didn't just fire spells in quick succession, she actually strung them together creating a chain spell, this was something that could only be done wordlessly because you had to start one incantation before the other was finished. Snape saw the solid line of spells coming at him and felt a twinge of jealousy, he'd been trying to properly string spells and create a spell chain for nearly a year! But even though he hadn't figured it out yet, he _did_ know one way to possibly turn it around on it's caster; he started the incantation for a shield spell but drew it out so the shield seemingly dripped from his wand, as Hermione's spell string approached, Snape flicked his partially formed shield up and 'caught' the spells. Hermione was impressed, only someone who both knew about, and had studied, spell chains knew the best way to react when attacked with one. Now, their spells were connected. Actually, physically connected.

As soon as she felt their spells connect, Hermione twisted her wand, whipped it up to the ceiling and straight back to the floor to break the connection. That was the problem with spell chains, if the defendant properly 'caught' it with a shield, it would continue to pull the linked spells from the attacker's wand and in turn, their magic. The upside was that if the chain hit it's target, the reaction would something like momentary electric shock followed by the natural reaction to the spells that had been strung together. It wasn't any more harmful than the strung spells but it was usually enough for the attacker to win. If the defendant managed to solidify the connection before the attacker reacted, they would be able to literally _draw_ the magic from the other's wand. But Hermione managed to break the connection, and rather violently at that. The spell chain and shield were ripped away from both casters' wand and for a moment the magic just hung in the air, then it exploded.

Sirius' eyes nearly fell out of his head when he saw Hermione create a spell chain, he'd only heard of them in passing and didn't even know if they were possible. All three professors gasped, a student had successfully strung spells, she had made a perfect spell chain! Then they were surprised even further, the other student knew the only way to possibly make it backfire. When Hermione broke it and the magic exploded, the students screamed and the professors applauded. It was the epitome of a successful spell chain attack and counter attack, both party used it properly and it didn't end disaster, which it may well have, them being students.

No one except Hermione and the professors had actually seen what happens when pure offensive magic and pure defensive magic collided freely, it wasn't the pleasantest thing in the world. So, even though he was smart and had turned around and covered his eyes, Snape was rather blinded and his personal magic felt like someone had punched it. As soon as Hermione had released the spell chain, she turned around, dove to the floor as far away as possible, cast a shield, covered her head with her arms and made herself as small as possible. She _still_ felt the magic hit her.

Only Hermione's strong dueling shield kept the audience from experiencing the full backlash of the explosion, as it was, they were still seeing stars.

Snape knew that Granger would have expected this sort of situation and would have reacted accordingly, so he guessed that she wasn't blind and didn't feel quite as tired as he did. But he didn't want to give up, he dropped to the ground and rolled away while casting the strongest shield he could with his magic feeling so weird. He fired a low-level, broad-range stunner in Granger's general direction, he rewarded by "SHIT!"

Hermione felt Snape put a fairly strong shield up and then fire a stunner, a thick, wide stunner, headed for her knees. "SHIT!" Then she hoped Salazar's gift of flight would behave and do what she wanted it to, if it went wrong, the entire school would know she can fly by dinner. But it didn't act up, Hermione slowly jumped as the red light of the stunner swept under her, she used Salazar's gift to hover for a split second while the rest of the spell passed and then landed on the floor with a breath of relief. Then she blew all the dust and smoke away, spotted Snape, stunned him and summoned his wand.

The stands erupted in cheers, that was better than a Quidditch match! Well, maybe not, but it was pretty damn close! But the shield wasn't down, so they couldn't pass out congratulations yet.

When Snape was revived, the first thing he saw was Hermione Granger grinning down at him and handing him his wand. "Wow." Was all he could say.

"I agree!" Hermione said.

Snape looked around, "We made a mess."

Hermione laughed, "Yeah, but I think they liked it." She said, pointing at the students on the stands and the professors trying to take down her shield. "Are you all in one piece?"

Snape went through a mental checklist of his body. "Yes, you?" He asked as he got to his feet.

"Yup. I am all here." Hermione responded with a smile, brushing _stuff_ off her white shirt and black pants; a terrible combination when fighting.

"Well, I certainly enjoyed myself." Snape said.

"I don't believe it, Severus Snape admitting that he enjoyed himself!"

Snape's scowl disappeared, which was tantamount to a smile for him. "Well, no one can hear us, and no one would believe you if you told them I did, so I don't mind saying it. Anyway, it has been known to happen, just on very rare occasions."

"Well, thank you for the best fight I've had in years; you're really good and not trying to kill me. I enjoyed my self."

"Thank _you_ for giving me a proper duel. Though vanishing the platform halfway through isn't traditional." Snape said.

"True. Now, I believe we should let the others in, they look a bit panicked, especially the medi-witch."

"Okay." Then he turned to face her and held out his hand for the second time that day. "Thanks again."

Hermione shook his hand, "You're welcome." She said before turning around. "Fuck, I'm glad he was on our side." Hermione muttered as she walked away from Snape.

Snape frowned when he heard her comment, she obviously hadn't meant to say it out loud so he filed it away for future contemplation, maybe he would discuss it with Regulus.

* * *

><p>The Marauders and Lily stayed behind with Snape, Hermione and the Professors to clean up the classroom and set up a time for the dueling class. Unbeknownst to everyone except Hermione, Regulus was hiding just inside the door. Hermione had a feeling that Regulus wanted to talk with his brother alone so she sent the others down to lunch saying he needed Sirius to convince a few girls that 'no' Hermione was <em>not<em> trying to take Sirius off the dating market. They laughed and wished him luck.

"Okay Hermione, what's this about?" Sirius asked with a frown.

"You can come out now." Hermione called. Regulus stepped out from the shadows by the door.

Sirius scowled. "What are _you_ doing here? Don't you have someone to go suck up to?"

Hermione punched Sirius. "Hey! Give him a chance. Remember why I'm here?" Sirius nodded, looking really confused. "Well..." She jerked her head in Regulus' direction. Sirius looked even more confused, so Hermione told Regulus to wait a second and dragged Sirius into the closet.

"Hermione! Explain!"

"Merlin, Sirius, you can be really thick!" Hermione said, rubbing her temples. "When am I from? The future. What do I know? Everything, well, not _everything_, but I know a lot."

"But what does that have to do with my evil brother?"

"Bugger all. Sirius, where have you left your brain? Your brother defected from the Death Eaters! He helped destroy a Horcrux and was personally killed by Voldemort for it!" Hermione hissed.

"Oh."

"Yeah, 'Oh' Is right. Now go out there and talk to him." Hermione said as she dumped him out of the closet. She then walked right past Regulus and through the door.

Silence permeated the room and Regulus looked like he was contemplating following Hermione's example and leaving, but then Sirius spoke.

"So. Um. How are things with you? Haven't talked in a few years..."

Regulus snorted. "Yeah, sounds about right." Silence stretched between the brothers again. "Um, I had an interesting talk at the beginning of the year."

"Hermione? Yeah, I'm beginning to think she had quite a few of those." Sirius said grudgingly.

"No, Snape actually." Regulus said with the hint of a smile.

"Snape?"

"Yeah, Hermione talked to him."

Sirius laughed, "It all leads back to her doesn't it?"

Regulus actually smiled, "It does. I don't know why or how, but she convinced him that...um...the um...Death Eaters weren't a good idea. Apparently she told him to talk to me. Anyway, long story short, I just wanted to tell you that you're right."

Sirius was gob-smacked, "Uhhhh..."

"Yeah. Also, um...I kinda need your help."

That brought Sirius out of his shock. "You need my help?" It had been many years since his brother had asked for help, the last time was when he was eight and Sirius was nine.

"Um. I realised just how delusional our parents are and I followed your example. I left."

"You left?" Sirius repeated dumbly.

"Yes, I left. But mother gave me the heir apparent ring when I turned 16, so I had access to the vault..." Regulus' voice trailed away.

"Are you saying what I think you're saying?" Sirius asked.

"That I currently have the maximum withdrawal amount of two million galleons currently shrunk and on my person right now? Yes." Regulus said with a small smile.

"Wha- You- You- Did you actually do that?" Sirius asked, his eyes widening as his surprisingly intelligent mind put things together.

"I did. But I don't know what to do now. I mean, you got the inheritance from Uncle Alphard and then ran away to the Potters but I'm in Slytherin, we don't do the whole friend thing." Regulus finished quietly.

"Okay, that's fine, I was planning on getting a flat after graduation so you can just stay with me but we have to do something with that money. Where did you put it? Is it locked up? You _do_ live in the Slytherin dorms, things happen down there, or so I've heard..."

Regulus rolled his eyes, "I said I have it 'on my person', that means I have it with me right now."

"Oh. OH! Where? No, wait, if you're any sort of smart, I don't think I'll like the answer." Sirius said, wrinkling up his nose. "Okay, we should probably get it to Gringotts asap. We can open an account no trouble cause you're over 15. Um, what are you doing now?"

"Are you saying we're going to Gringotts _now_?" Regulus asked. "How the hell do you expect to get out of the school?"

Sirius smirked, "I have my ways. Now, go down to the kitchens and grab us some food and I'll get the um...my coat."

"Okay...I'll be in the kitchens then." Regulus said suspiciously as Sirius ran out of the room.

Sirius ran headfirst into Hermione who was waiting around the corner. "Going somewhere?" She asked with a grin.

"Uh, yeah. Regulus ran away, but he took a shit ton of gold from the Black vault before he left and he's carrying it around, probably in his pants, and we have to get him an account! But we have to go now, well, no, but I want to go now. And I need the map for when we get back and my brother's not a Death Eater!" Sirius said in a rush.

Hermione just smiled smugly and handed him his jacket and James' map, "I told them what's going on. We'll see you tonight."

* * *

><p>Author's note: I know I said a few chapters back that I was finished with Snape and Regulus but apparently they didn't want to stay gone. I really had no say in the matter, my fingers took on a life of their own and typed away. Anyway, I hope you liked it. The next chapter will probably be a while. Thanks so much for the reviews, there's so many!<p> 


	20. Taking Action

**Preventing the Future**

**Chapter Twenty – Taking Action**

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><p>Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter, I am an indebted university student.<p>

Warning: This chapter is one that really earns this story it's **T** rating. There is quite a bit of violence and you get a look at dark Hermione.

Author's note: When I wrote this chapter it got to nearly 12,000 words..I seem to have difficulties writing short chapters. Anyway, I split it and the next chapter will be up in a few minutes. Enjoy!

* * *

><p>The first Saturday in October, Hermione woke up and realised that an entire month had gone by and she hadn't really done anything productive. She'd stopped Snape, Peter and Regulus from joining Voldemort and she'd been working on fixing herself, training herself up and learning, but beyond that, she was no closer to preventing the future than she had been when she got here. So, she pulled out her people notebook and ran down the list of known Death Eaters and picked one. At first, she was going to head straight for the Lestranges but realised that jumping off the deep end after almost two months of lazing around probably wasn't the best idea. She also couldn't go for the Malfoy's because she didn't want to prevent Draco's birth; as much as she had hated him to begin with, he <em>had<em> abandoned his parents and fought, and died, with her. So, she decided to settled a rather personal vendetta (that wasn't the Lestranges); Anotnin Dolohov.

_**Flashback**_

"Okay Bill, I guessing you have two minutes, maybe three before they catch on to us. Another one for them to get here and after that...well, I'm pretty knackered so I can only promise another five minutes, max before I'm spent. So get to work."

He nodded, Bill Weasley officially had less than eight minutes to break the emergency wards around Malfoy Manor, these four layers of wards were currently trapping 15 Order members and themselves in with more than 30 Death Eaters.

Hermione stood guard over Bill, listening to the sounds of fighting and hoping against hope that it wasn't going to be moving in their direction, she could handle two or three Death Eaters but she couldn't protect Bill – and in turn, everyone's escape route – in the middle of a battlefield. Exactly two and half minutes after Bill started working, he had almost broken the second layer, and three Death Eaters found them.

"Bill, they're here, the clock is ticking." Hermione took a deep breath, rallying her strength, they had been fighting for 20 minutes before they felt the emergency wards go up, she was already tired but refused to give in; she and Bill had a job to do, without it...well, that didn't bear thinking about. The curse-breaker wanted nothing more than to jump up and defend Hermione, he had had it drilled into his mind that you protected those of the fairer sex, but he knew that he was the only one would could get this done in any semblance of time and if he stopped now, he'd be condemning 17 people to death. Hermione couldn't help him and he couldn't help her, that was the reality of war.

Of the three Death Eater that approached, only one had a mask, the other two were Avery and Dolohov, with a snarl they attacked. It was bloody and brutal, two minutes in, Hermione managed to put the random guy out of commission, though to be honest, it could have been a girl; they all scream the same when their wand arm is blown to smithereens. Neither of her remaining opponents took kindly to the loss of their backup so they stepped up their attack. After three minutes, Hermione was fading fast, her left arm had been dislocated at the elbow when she didn't have the concentration to fully dodge a bone-breaking curse. Usually, she would have also been using a shield but her shield was currently around Bill and it's rather difficult to shield a second person _and_ yourself, so her defense was limited to dodging and projectiles. The three and a half minute mark was accompanied by a blasting curse to Hermione's foot, as well as Bill breaking through the third layer. At four minutes and 46 seconds the wards fella and Hermione had her abdomen sliced open by Dolohov. Five seconds later, 11 of the 15 Order members portkeyed into Grimmauld, the other four dragged along with them in various states of bodily harm. After the immediate headcount they realised that Bill and Hermione weren't there.

As Bill poured raw magic into the last ward, he felt it fall. He then looked up just in time to see Dolohov hit Hermione with a jet of purple light. Now that his job was done, he could help the woman who had managed to stand against three Death Eaters for almost five straight minutes while keeping him covered by the strongest shield charm imaginable, so strong it stopped physical debris as well. In the half a second it took his brain to realise that Hermione was probably mortally wounded, he also realised that the shield she had used was one that needed to be continually powered. Hermione had held those men off while wandlessly pouring magic into a free-standing shield, she had been fighting with _half_ her magic and _half_ her concentration. Bill felt a rage building in him as he saw both men standing over Hermione, torturing her already wounded body with the cruciatus while she bled out. He leaped to his feet and launched an attack, trying to get them far enough away so Bill could activate their portkeys. It took him a full minute to reach Hermione because as good as he was, he was nearing magical exhaustion and he wasn't anywhere near Hermione's skill level at dueling. He fought with every single drop of energy in him and when he finally reached her, he was completely drained. As they winked out of existence, a jet of green light singed the tail off Hermione's braid. Two minutes after the wards had fallen, Bill arrived at Headquarters clutching Hermione's near-dead body, screaming for help.

Hermione woke a week later with an awful scar and yet another vow of revenge. Six months later, Avery was trapped in a burning St. Mungos after Hermione and Bill bound him to a post. Two years after that, Bill ripped Dolohov's head off right his shoulders, but not before Hermione had petrified him, rested her wand tip over his heart, and whispered 'Avada Kedavra.'

_**End Flashback**_

Hermione stared silently at the bright red canopy of her bed, that was one of the only times she had looked someone right in the eye as she killed them. It was the only time Bill took revenge on a dead body. Bill and Hermione were the only two who knew of Hermione's torture and the two men's gruesome deaths. The bastard Dolohov deserved a hell of a lot more than he got. Hermione shook her head, it wouldn't do any good to dwell on the past, it was dead and gone. As she lay there, she wanted to promise herself that she would just kill them quick and easy this time around but...people like Dolohov, the Lestranges, the Carrows, Malfoy Sr., McNair, Nott and Avery. She couldn't make that promise because she knew the temptation to take a second round of revenge might be too great to resist. These thoughts scared her, Hermione used to be so good as keeping her emotions under control, but now that she had started allowing herself to feel, the less appealing emotions were rearing their heads as well. To her newly re-formed conscious, this was rather disturbing and more than a little scary.

_Well,_ Hermione thought, _It's not like I can put it off forever or change what I feel. Might as well start soon._ So the next week she prepared, careful to avoid the suspicion of the Marauders and Lily. They knew what Hermione was here for, but that didn't mean that they understood the technicalities, or the revenge factor. Nor did it mean that they needed advance warning as to what she was up to, they would almost certainly want to 'help' and they weren't ready. Sure, she had been working with them outside of class but they wouldn't last five minutes against a Death Eater, even if they were completely rested and not having to worry about others. They were good, but they just didn't have the experience, bringing them with her now, would be like throwing them out of a plane without a parachute (or broom or wand), they would have to start small and work up. Dolohov and Avery, they weren't small.

With a sigh, Hermione pulled on her fighting clothes and walked over to the boys dorm. She had left them all at dinner so she could prepare in peace. She didn't want to just run off and leave them in the dark, especially since she might need someone to patch her up afterwards. Also, there was a chance they would try to follow or go to Dumbledore, two things she really didn't want happening. She hadn't gotten around to telling James, Sirius and Peter about the Founder's Hall and the secure apparation point there – which she had only just found out about herself – and figured Lily and Remus could explain it while she was gone.

* * *

><p>"Hermione?" Lily called from the common room.<p>

"Boy's dorm!" Hermione called back.

"Why are – " Lily stopped talking when she saw what her friend was wearing.

Hermione gave a small half smile, she knew what she looked like, and it probably wasn't the most reassuring thing. She had on form-fitting black pants, just loose enough to allow for the deadly graceful movements of fighting, a tight long-sleeved black shirt with light protective spells on it, black, flexible combat boots, and a large dragon-hide vest that covered the tops of both her shoulders and went all the way down past her hips. It was extremely flexible and had saved her life more times than she could could count. She had developed a semi-dark spell that would allow her to meld and layer different pieces of dragon hide, not even the Death Eaters could do that. This vest of hers was the toughest in the world because she had basically woven, melted and molded three different types of hide together, every time she repaired it, it got a bit stronger because she would pull it apart and then painstakingly sew it magically back together, weaving in whatever new pieces of hide she could get her hands on. When she had been cut by Dolohov while protecting Bill, it was this vest that kept her from being ripped in two. In her hand, Hermione held a new addition, a mask; it was black with gold highlights, she knew that it fit her face so well that it might as well have been painted on.

"Let's just wait till the boys get up here for the explanation, okay?"

"Okay..." Lily said uncertainly, it looked like Hermione was dressed to... "Hermione? Where are you going?"

Before Hermione could answer, Sirius appeared in the doorway. "Why hello ladies, I must say, this is a lovely welcoming committee. What's this about going somewhere?"

"Who's going where?" James asked, as he walked in behind Sirius.

"Is someone leaving?" Peter asked, being the next to appear.

"Joy." Remus said dryly, "Another excursion. I think I'm going to sit this one out. Oh, hey girls, if where you're going has chocolate, bring me some, will you?"

Lily looked at Hermione, "Well, while their trains of thought try to find their rails again, will you answer my question?"

"Yes. Boys, take a seat." Hermione said, speaking over the rapidly deteriorating argument about chocolate addictions. They all looked up.

"Right, yeah." James said, flopping down on his bed. "Would you two beautiful women please enlighten us as to why you invaded the dorm without it's handsome inhabitants?"

Sirius plopped down right next to Hermione who happened to have chosen his bed as her seat. "Not that we mind, of course... By the way, welcome to my bed!" He said while wiggling his eyebrows suggestively. Hermione just pushed him to the other end of the bed with a smirk, she was used to his continuous flirting, he did it with literally _everyone_.

Lily rolled her eyes as Remus joined her on his bed, "If you'd _shut up_, Hermione would tell us." She said.

Peter took up residence on James bed, which was on the other side of Sirius', so they all had a good view of Hermione.

Five sets of eyes focused on Hermione. "Well, I promised to keep you up to date on the whole changing the past thing and– " James cut her off.

"Yeah, whatever happened with that?"

"Have you been wor- "

Hermione silenced them all with a flick of her finger before Remus could finish his question. "Thank you. Now, as I was saying, I promised to keep you informed, so I'm doing so. Tonight I'm paying a visit to an old _friend._ Antonin Dolohov and I have some business to re-finish. Now, I can tell from all the angry faces and exaggerated movements that you're not too pleased about this, but, you really don't have a choice, sorry. I could have just not told you what I was doing, but that would be rude. I could also say that I wish I could bring you with me but that'd be a lie. This is a rather _personal_ matter and you don't need to get involved, there might be a few munchers around and I don't want you to get caught in the crossfire, it would be more than deadly. I know you are some of the best fighters around but you're just not trained enough and the chances of you coming out alive are slim. Now, I know that you'll want to follow. _Don't._ Please don't even try. I don't want to have to worry about you, I'm not saying you're bad, just that you're not ready yet."

When Hermione finished she lifted the spell and the others could talk again, not that they did; they just sat there and stared at her. None of them liked what Hermione had said, they _really_ didn't like it. Problem was, she was right and they knew it.

James looked at Hermione, he really _looked_ at her, she was determined to do this and James knew that she _could_ do this. He sighed, "You come back to us, alright?" He said seriously, there was nothing he could do other than give her moral support and be there when she got back, that's all any of them could do.

"Yeah, we can't have that pretty face of your's getting lost, you'd break the hearts of half the school. Hell, you'd break more than half." There was silence.

The boys looked at Lily in awe, did the red haired beauty _actually_ say just say that? Did _Lily Evans_ say that? Had she had her brain switched with Sirius'?

Said Marauder blinked and decided to address the changing personality of James' love at a later time. "And you better kick some Death Eater ass! You whip their butts into shape!"

Hermione grinned, "Oh, I'm not planning on whipping them into shape, there won't be any shape making going on tonight."

Peter shivered, it was times like this that made him _infinitely_ grateful to Hermione, "I agree with James, you better come back in one piece."

Remus stared at Hermione for a moment, "How many?" He asked.

"How many what?" Hermione asked.

"How many Death Eaters?"

"You're going to have to be _a lot_ more specific than that." Hermione replied cheekily.

Remus wanted her to answer all three of the implied questions but knew there was only one she would answer right now. "How many are there going to be there tonight?"

Hermione frowned. "Why do you want to know?"

By now, all the others were wanting to know as well, "So we know whether or not we'll need to put a full medical team on alert." Sirius said.

"Don't do that. As long as I'm conscious I can heal almost anything, especially with this lovely wand of mine."

Remus growled, "And if you're _not_ conscious?"

"Highly unlikely, but in that case, I believe I can count on one of you to revive me." Hermione said.

Peter frowned, ever since Hermione helped him – although privately he said she saved him – he had taken a vested interest in helping her. He wanted to make up for whatever he had done, he wanted to prove he had changed, even if he hadn't actually done anything. "We will do what we can." He said confidently. "We've patched each other up enough times, well, James and Sirius have, we'll do what we can. Won't we guys?"

Lily smiled at Peter, he had changed so much since Hermione had talked to him, the others didn't know what he'd done but she did. She could also tell that he was somehow trying to atone for things that never happened, things he didn't even know what were. Lily had taken to making sure he felt useful, but as time went by, she found herself not needing to do anything, it was astonishing. "Yes we will. Now, how are you going there and getting back? We need to know where to wait."

"There's a point in the Founders Hall that allows apparation. I'll be going from there. That way, you all have something to discuss while I'm gone. Remus, Lily, I expect you to keep them from worrying too much."

The three boys not in on the secret of the Founders Hall looked extremely confused, but decided that now was not the time to be annoyed that Remus, Lily and Hermione knew something they didn't.

"Then let's see you off!" Sirius said as he clapped and stood up. "However, since I have absolutely no fucking idea where this hall of yours is, someone else is going to have to lead the way."

Hermione led them all through the Founders Door and the three boys bit their tongues and glared at Lily and Remus who just smiled. When they got to the apparation point, Hermione gave them each a hug – a new development for her – and took a deep breath. She steeled herself and slipped her mask on, a quick charm darkened the skin behind the eye holes, before turning on the spot and disappearing soundlessly, nothing but thoughts of cold, hard revenge running though her head. Unbeknownst to her, those feelings of revenge shone through her mask, her lovely brown eyes almost black with sparks of amber flashing through the holes. It was as if the brown had been polarized; dark and light, each vying for control, and the dark was winning.

James stared at the place where Hermione's head had been moments before, shocked. "Guys, did you see her eyes?"

Lily shivered, "Yes. I've never seen anything like them."

Sirius and Remus looked at each other. "I wouldn't want to be those Death Eaters." Sirius said.

"But those eyes..." Remus' voice trailed away.

"Yeah," Peter said, "She's gone to kill them. I knew that was what she was going to do but, well, I guess it didn't really hit me till now."

"No." Remus said, much to the surprise of the others. "I don't what that Dolohov guy did to her, but she's not just making sure they're not around to hurt anyone else or to help Voldemort. She's out for revenge. Oh Merlin, she's going to make them suffer." Remus said quietly.

Lily whipped her head around to look at Remus, "Would she really do that? I mean, I know we've only known her for a bit more than a month, but she doesn't seem like the kind of person to torture someone."

"How do we know that?" James asked. "She never really talks about the actual war, she just says that it was really bad. Sure, she's told us a few stories but the details have always been very vague."

"I know what you mean." Sirius said thoughtfully, "She mentions things and people who died but it's always, "So and so died and Hogwarts fell", "Only eight of us made it out alive", or "It took us two weeks to find a way out." Think about it, 'find a way out', they had been _captured_ by Death Eaters, what do Death Eaters do to prisoners?"

Lily pressed both her hands over her mouth as her eyes filled with tears, "Oh my god." Even though her voice was muffled, the boys heard her loud and clear.

"Precisely." Sirius said. "Two weeks, two weeks of _torture._"

"I can't believe we didn't figure this out sooner." Remus said, he looked absolutely horrified.

"Merlin, we're terrible people." James said as he collapsed on a couch.

Sirius frowned, "No, we've just lived extremely sheltered lives in comparison, even _me_. We really don't have the slightest idea of what she's been through."

* * *

><p>While her friends were finally coming to grips with her past, Hermione was walking up to Dolohov's house. It only took her two minutes to take down his pitiful wards, both sets of them, but her anger grew as she was once again reminded of when Bill and her were at the Malfoy manor. Once done, she slipped in the back door. Sitting at the table, completely piss-drunk, was Avery and right next to him, laughing at his 'friend's' predicament, was Dolohov. Hermione's vision turned red and she bound Avery with ever-burning rope, however she wasn't fast enough to get Dolohov before he grabbed his wand and started attacking. It really wasn't a fair fight, last time she had been using half her magic to make sure Bill didn't get hit by a stray curse or flying debris, this time she had three more years of experience and an excess of magic, not to mention her brilliant wand. 30 seconds later, Dolohov was wandless. Hermione usually wasn't one for dramatics and didn't usually approve of taunting victory speeches, but she decided to make this an exception.<p>

"Antonin, we meet again. You know, last time I saw you, you were having a bit of difficulty with your head. And Avery, you seem to have an affinity for fire." Avery whimpered, the burning rope was slowly tightening, sinking into his skin bit by bit, it was enough to sober anyone up. Dolohov was just pissed off.

"What are you talking about bitch? I've never seen you before in my life." Dolohov yelled.

Hermione waved her hand airily, "Details, details."

"I'm going to kill you! I'll make you wish you'd never been born!" He cried and leaped at her.

"Now that's just not nice." Hermione said, freezing him in place. "And also quite incorrect, the only person doing any killing tonight is _me_."

Dolohov's eyes flicked to Avery who, despite the pain of being slowly strangled by fire, was trying to reach for his portkey. Hermione followed his gaze and made a tisking sound. "Oh, now we can't have that." She made an open fist and closed it slowly, as her fingers came together, the burning rope that was slowly squishing Avery sped up, filling the kitchen with his screams. With one final squeeze, Avery was left in pieces; the rope had literally burned through his body. The stench of burning flesh started filling the room until Hermione waved and a wind picked up, blowing it all away. Hermione felt absolutely no remorse, and somewhere, in a part of her mind that she was ignoring right now, she knew she should be worried about the fact that this wasn't bothering her. But she was ignoring that part of her mind.

"Now, where we?" Hermione asked calmly. Dolohov's eyes nearly fell out of his head, this girl, whoever she was, was definitely _not_ working for Dumbledore or the ministry so that must mean... "I can see where your thoughts are taking you and no, I don't work for Voldemort. I work for myself, and I have a bone to pick with you."

Now Dolohov was terrified, if he hadn't been frozen he probably would have wet his pants, this girl was an unknown enemy, one who wasn't afraid to use almost dark magic to kill. He realised his time on this earth had come to an end, and was extremely worried about just how much that ending was going to hurt.

Hermione grabbed her powerful wand and casually fired Dolohov's special cutting curse back at him. She didn't stop until he was cut to ribbons. Then things took a turn for the worse; Voldemort showed up, Hermione had no clue _what_ he was doing there, this wasn't a mansion, this wasn't a meeting, this was just two idiots drinking together! But she didn't have time to think about it, he had apparated in right behind her. As she turned, she got hit with yet another extremely powerful cutting curse, she was really beginning to hate those, it was ironic considering she had just killed someone with it. Because she had been turning when the curse hit, it cut all the way from the tip of her left shoulder, across her back, down and around her side, coming to a stop just below the front of her right hipbone. Hermione knew better than to try to duel Voldemort with a massive gash running around half her body, especially since there was no point in doing so until his horcruxes were gone. So she disapparated, all the while thanking her dragon hide vest that had slowed down the curse enough so it didn't sever her spine, split her ribs or remove her intestines as it was originally designed to do. Hermione was lucky her special vest was slightly bigger than most because it covered the tops of her shoulder and her lower abdomen, the curse had literally gone from the top boundary to bottom of that vest.

* * *

><p>Lily and Remus had explained the hall and door in five minutes before they decided to do something useful. With the help of Matri and the elves, they had set up small triage station off to the side and stocked it with as many potions as they could think of (and get their hands on). Lily and James had put their slowly fading feud on hold, and were both pouring over a healing book, marking what they thought might be useful spells. Sirius and Peter weren't being much help because they were too busy worrying. Remus was working with Matri and the elves to set up the bed, he used his extensive knowledge to teach them how to deal with a severely wounded patient, cuts and bites mostly. Matri had wanted to get an elf healer to come up, but they soon realised that when Hermione said she was the only only to allow people into the Hall, it meant <em>anyone<em>, non-humans included. So, they were doing the best with what they had. A half hour later there was an almost inaudible 'pop' and Hermione stepped weakly off the apparation point. At first glance, she just looked tired, really tired but...

"Hermione!" Lily cried, jumping up. "Are you alright?" Hermione tried to take a deep breath but she realised that no, she wasn't alright. If this had happened three months ago, she would have grabbed a bit of bandage or torn robe or something, and just wrapped her entire torso tightly until the pain abated enough for her to deal with it. But this wasn't three months ago, and she had five people willing to help.

"Um. Not really, but it's not _that_ bad." Hermione said, as she leaned against the side of the bed, not quite sitting down because that would push against the end of the cut. "I just need to heal this thing up."

"Can we help?" Lily asked worried.

"Um, I guess. If you can clean the cut it would be easier for me to heal it. Just get my vest and shirt off, the cut goes right across my back, so bra's probably wreaked as well." She didn't notice that the blood wasn't flowing fast enough to be dripping yet and the colour of her vest didn't show the blood very well.

Sirius paused, under normal circumstances, he would jump at the opportunity, after all, it's not everyday that a hot girl asked you to take her shirt off for no apparent reason. But this was Hermione, and as much as he really wouldn't mind seeing what was under her shirt, he didn't think it was appropriate.

Remus blanched, take her shirt off? Despite being one of the more popular boys at Hogwarts he hadn't ever moved beyond harmless kissing, he wasn't sure he wanted one of his closest (albeit new) friends, to be the first girl he saw topless. And he really didn't see why she was asking them to do it.

Peter's eyes widened as he tried to figure out why she would want them to take her shirt off. He didn't want to see his friend without anything on! That's just weird!

James' gaze was drawn to Lily, he wasn't sure how he felt seeing another girl topless while she was in the room, hell, he didn't know how he felt about seeing a girl topless at all! Sure, he knew what was under there but he always imagined it would be Lily who he saw first...

Lily looked shocked, Hermione _never_ took her shirt off, even in the dorm. Then she saw a pool of blood start forming on the white sheets and rushed forward. When she noticed that the boys weren't moving she huffed.

"Oh for crying out loud! You act like you've never seen a girl topless before!" When she looked at their faces (except Sirius) she realised that they actually _hadn't_. "Oh. Interesting." She said quietly, filing that information away for later. "Fine. Sirius, get over here. You guys...just get over it!"

Sirius finally saw the blood and remembered that the others were probably in a bit of shock, he jumped into action. "Okay Hermione, where can't we touch?" He asked.

"Left shoulder, whole back, right side, right hip." Hermione said with a grimace, she was no stranger to pain but this wasn't the most pleasant way to be re-introduced to it after an almost two month break. "But we gotta get the vest off. I'm going to lift my arms, slide it up as fast as you can, the less skin you touch, the better. Try not to rip it any more than it already has been."

So they did that, Hermione lifted her arms, gritting her teeth to get through the extreme pain that shot all along the cut as the skin was stretched, and Lily and Sirius slipped the vest off as fast possible. When it was off they saw that her shirt was all but falling off.

"Cut it, just cut it all off." Hermione told them. "Everything, I don't want anything staying in the wound. Oh, and don't use magic, that has a tendency to react badly with many magical cuts."

Knowing that this was probably a bad time to use a cutting curse, Lily conjured a pair of scissors (which confused the boys) and deftly cut what was left of Hermione's shirt and sports top off. She only hesitated a moment before letting them both fall to the floor.

All the boys finally snapped out of their trance; Peter fainted, James quickly moved so he was behind Hermione and Remus just looked at the gruesome sight of a gash that ran around half of his friend's body (pointedly ignoring Hermione's chest).

"Come on guys! A little help here! Yes, I'm a girl. Yes, I have breasts. But I also have a curse cut that is in need of cleaning! If you're not going to help then go away and I'll do it myself." The elves stood by ready to hand clean cloths, water and potions to the makeshift healers but the humans weren't actually doing anything yet.

"Right." Lily said, taking charge. "James, Remus, work on her back. Sirius, you do her side. I'll do the front." Then she saw that the cut had extended through the top of her pants, "Hermione, I'm going to have to push your waistband down a bit, is that okay?"

Hermione rolled her eyes, "Yes, it's fine." Remus and James stood behind Hermione really trying not to touch _any_ of her skin, and that was not an effective way to clean a cut, the only person really doing their job with out being overly concerned with her clothing, or lack thereof, was Sirius. She couldn't really blame Lily for her question though, after all, they _were_ her _pants_. The person who was really annoying her was Remus, he had been one of the most efficient healers last time around, he was second only to Poppy. "Remus, what are you doing?"

Remus looked up sharply, "Sorry, I didn't mean to, I'm trying not to touch, promise."

Hermione was very annoyed at the way they were approaching this whole situation, if she had been thinking clearly she would have remembered that they were just school kids and this was their first real introduction to the real world of pain and war, but she wasn't, so she gritted her teeth and glared at a couch (it was a stand-in for Remus' face, which she couldn't see at the moment).

"Remus, I had a burn that went from just below my collarbone to the middle of my thighs. I had to strip completely to get it healed, and I mean _completely._ You wanna know who healed it?"

Remus really didn't like where this was headed. "Um..."

"You did! The only people there were you, Fred, a kid named Dean and me. Fred was in a state of complete and utter shock because his twin had just died in his arms, and Dean was unconscious. The curse that hit me was one that caused the burn to spread slowly unless you trapped it, you had to literally rip my clothing off to save my life. So stop being a wuss and just clean the damn cut! You're the ones who wanted to help in the first place so get over it!"

Hermione immediately regretted her little outburst, everyone had stopped working and was staring at her, "WHAT?" They asked in unison.

"You- that- how-" Remus was having trouble finding words. "That's awful!"

"Sorry about that guys. Didn't mean to get worked up but this thing really does hurt and the sooner you all finish cleaning it the sooner I can heal it and we can wrap it. If you don't get back to work soon I'm just going to do it myself. It would be crude, but effective."

The first one back to work was Sirius who actually had the hardest job because some of her shirt had gotten caught in that part of the cut when she turned and he had to keep pulling bits out, it was disgusting but he was somehow managing just fine. Lily was next as she finally got over being shy and just rolled down the top of Hermione's pants and cleaned the end of the cut. When James saw Lily focusing again he managed to gain a little confidence and poured water and sterilizing potion over the wound. Remus on the other hand, he was still trying to come to grips with the fact that he had a) worked on Hermione when she was completely naked and b) done so with a dead body next to him. He didn't know which disturbed him more. Finally though, he got back to work.

It was just then that Hermione noticed that there was a faint (and fading) blue glow to the cut. "Shit!" She yelled.

Everyone stopped and looked at each other, silently asking if they had done something wrong. It was Sirius who spoke up. "What? What is it?"

"The curse is glowing blue! Fucking Voldy pants, I can't wait to get rid of that bastard."

Lily frowned, "Okay, I agree with the sentiment of getting rid of him but why the concern about the colour?"

"Because I've seen this type of cut before!" _And felt it._ "It leaves a curse scar, the cruciatus, fire, cursed and not, and anything hot, including water, will open it up again. Goddammit, I'm back to cold showers, _again_!"

The boys chuckled, "Welcome to our world." Sirius muttered, Lily scowled at him.

"Hang on, what do you mean 'again'? Has this happened before?" Remus asked with a frown.

"Well, I got one a few years back, nasty little bugger on my shin. The hot water thing isn't that big a deal but the rest, damn, that shit hurts enough on it's own."

Lily decided to ignore the implication that Hermione was well acquainted with the cruciatus and cursed fire, "If it keeps opening up, how do you not die from blood loss?"

"Good question." Hermione said, "The answer to which took nearly a year to figure out. The first is to carry a shit ton of blood replenishing potion around, and the second is to heal it. But the only way you can do that is to wrap it in a special bandage and paste thing for a week."

"So, what's the bandage made of? Can we get it and the paste soon?" James asked.

"That would be nice, wouldn't it?" Hermione snorted, "The bandage is a weave of unicorn and Thestral tail hairs and the paste contains unicorn blood and phoenix tears, among other things. And all of it has to be fresh and freely given."

"How the hell did you figure that out?" Remus asked.

"It was Ron, surprisingly, who figured that out, not that that's important. Not even he knows how he came up with it, it's just so random and specific. But hey, if it works, don't question it."

"But how are you supposed to get enough tail hairs to make a whole bandage? Unicorns are notoriously difficult to approach and it's nearly impossible to find a Thestral." Lily said sensibly.

"Well, now that I think about it, it won't be that hard to get now." Hermione said as she remembered that all that was within the school grounds.

"Oh really? And how exactly is that?" Sirius asked skeptically.

"Easy, we're at Hogwarts. We've got the forest and Fawkes, he likes me." Hermione said with a smile.

"Okay, that's unicorn – assuming you can convince one to give you hairs and blood – and phoenix, but you still need Thestral hairs." Remus said sensibly. "No one knows where to find them."

Hermione looked at them like they were crazy, "Don't you know what pulls the school carriages?" The blank faces staring back at her answered the question. "Oh. Well, Thestrals pull them, there's nearly a hundred living in the forest. All you need to do is go in with raw steak and you'll get at least ten, than means you have to bring quite a few steaks but it's worth it."

"Oh." Sirius said.

"But if they pull the carriages, why can't we see them?" Remus asked.

If it hadn't been Remus asking, Hermione would have thought they didn't pay attention in class. She sighed "You can only see Thestrals if you've seen death. Unless someone has kicked the bucket in front of you, you won't be able to see them." Silence. "Jeese guys, I was in a war. Get over it."

So they did.

* * *

><p>Author's note: I hope it was okay. The next chapter will be up in a few minutes and I promise that it is FUN! The seriousness will continue later. Thanks for reading!<p> 


	21. Declaration of War

**Preventing the Future**

**Chapter Twenty One – Declaration of War**

* * *

><p>Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter and it's probably best that it stay that way.<p>

Warning: Again, this chapter earns the **'T'** but for a completely different reason. One of the pranks involves same gender kisses. It's all in good fun, promise.

Author's note: Here is the second 'half' (even though it's not really a half) of the original chapter 20. Enjoy!

* * *

><p>Hermione woke the next morning with a groan, her back was sore and all she wanted to do was stand in a hot shower for an hour. But because of that stupid fucking cut, she had to use cold water, she even <em>yelped<em> as she stepped under the icy stream. Hermione never yelped. After a whole two minutes in the shower, Hermione was ready for something to take her mind off her freezing back. The first week of October in Scotland is _not_ the time of year to be taking cold showers. To make her mood even better was the fact that it was Sunday and she had two essays to write, she was seriously considering testing her theory that Binns couldn't actually read the majority of their essays. She decided that nothing was going to be done until coffee and breakfast had been consumed, a trip to the kitchens was in order.

Lily heard Hermione groan as she woke up, to be honest, she was surprised her friend got any sleep at all, that cut must have hurt like a bitch. Lily would have laughed when she heard Hermione yelp in the shower if she hadn't been feeling so bad for her. When Hermione came out dressed in comfy sweats and a _very_ warm jumper, Lily decided that she could use company...even if it _was_ only five.

"Hey, Hermione. You all good this morning?" Lily asked quietly.

"Yeah, I'll be fine. I'm just headed down for some coffee, you can go ahead and sleep, it's way too early to be up." Hermione said as she just put slippers on instead of shoes, bending over was rather uncomfortable at the moment.

"Nah, I don't think I can sleep any more. Can I join you?"

Hermione blinked, Lily was offering to get up at five on a Sunday, after staying up most of the night? "Um. I guess."

"Okay." Lily jumped out of bed and just pulled a jumper on over her purple and blue swirled flannel pajamas. "But I'm having hot chocolate instead of coffee."

When they each had their respective hot beverages, Lily broke the comfortable silence. "I was thinking, it's time for the Bandits to strike again. If I'm keeping track properly, the Marauders have one up on us."

Hermione smiled, Lily was trying to take her mind off yesterday, and she planned on allowing it to work. "That sounds like a plan. Shall we retreat to headquarters?"

"Yes we shall." Lily replied, linking arms with Hermione and opening the Founder's door in the corner of the kitchen.

The two of them spent most of the day in their hide out in Salazar's rooms. The boys went looking for them when they didn't show up for lunch, and then they got really worried when they couldn't find them on the map, but then Remus told them that there are some Door Destinations that only Hermione can get to and none of them showed up on the map, so they figured Hermione was hiding and Lily was keeping her company. If they were actually hiding, there was absolutely _no way_ even the Marauders could find them so they retreated to their dorm.

Hermione and Lily convinced Matri to bring them lunch and subsequently dinner, so they didn't have to take a break from their planning. By midnight, they had thought up, researched and fully developed six pranks, two or three of them were works of genius, if they did say so themselves. They brewed a quick potion and stopped by the kitchens before they headed back to the common room.

Sirius was sitting on the couch when the girls appeared from where he now knew the Founders Door to be.

"Nice flannels, Lily!" Sirius called from across the room.

James looked up, "Where have you guys been all day?" He asked.

The girls had discussed this and decided to use last night as an excuse. "We needed to relax and our dorm was invaded by gossiping girls." Lily said with a glare. "And now we're going to bed. Goodnight."

The boys watched as Lily stormed up the stairs and Hermione followed, making sure to carry herself as if she was in considerable pain. It wasn't that hard because her back _was_ seriously painful, she was just good at ignoring it.

"I wish there was something we could _do_." James said quietly.

"I know, but there isn't really." Remus said with a sigh. "She has to get the stuff for that bandage and considering how much we knew about the ingredients, we can't help."

Hermione waited until her roommates were asleep before heading off to the kitchen and then to the Forbidden Forest. With 15 raw steaks in hand she attracted quite the herd of Thestrals and soon had a large collection of hairs. Then the hard part came. She walked to the part of the forbidden forest where she knew unicorns tended to hand out and sat in the middle of a clearing to meditate, reaching out with her mind she found a two full-grown unicorns and she called to them. Warily they approached her and stood just inside the trees, she carefully broadcast her emotions, pain, hurt, need, calm, determination, she gave them everything. Contrary to popular opinion, Unicorns don't _just_ read and accept purity and youth, they also accept intentions. Hermione needed the help for something that an evil man had given her, the Unicorns could feel the dark magic emanating from her cut and one of them wanted to help. The other seemed concerned about the dark magic emanating from Hermione and stayed back for a while. Hermione explained what she needed and why as well as what she would do with the bandage when it was complete (seal it in an unbreakable jar so no one else could use the blood and tail hairs). The first unicorn gave her ten thick hairs and a small vial of blood while the second only gave her six hairs and no blood. But that didn't matter, she had all that she needed, especially because Fawkes took that opportunity to show up and fill a vial with tears. Hermione couldn't believe that this had gone as smoothly as it had but wasn't about to question it. No good came of questioning fortuitous happenings.

When she found the tree that hid the Founders Door, Hermione slipped into Salazar's chambers and carefully placed the materials into storage containers, she had to wait until the cut was mostly healed before changing the bandage. She chuckled when she saw the extra vials of potion she and Lily had brewed earlier, this next was going to be interesting. The school would have no idea what hit them, especially if the Marauders and/or Peeves and Hellion responded.

* * *

><p>Monday morning dawned cold and rainy, the castle felt a bit damp and no one was looking forward to classes. Students trudged into the Great Hall and every single person poured themselves some sort of hot drink, little did they know that they would actually appreciate a prank for once. The first person to be hit was a third year Slytherin; there was a very quiet whistle and then bright blue steam was pouring from her ears. At first, she was way too shocked to react, then a grin plastered itself across her face, "That was awesome!" She yelled.<p>

"What?" Asked a one of her classmates, "You just got pranked and you say it was awesome? Are you craz-" The boy got cut off as he produced a quiet whistle and then two jets of green steam.

Gradually, the rest of the hall fell victim, but 'victim' wasn't really the right word to use. When the whistle sounded, a warm fuzzy feeling built up in the person's stomach and then, as the steam blew out their ears, their entire body warmed up. This continued randomly all day, and even some of the teachers were a bit grateful for the sudden warmth that lingered long after the steam dissipated (not that they would condone such a thing of course). The whistle was even quiet enough to not interrupt class...much.

The students chalked it up to the Marauders, but for once the boys didn't have to test their acting skill by pretending to be surprised. Little did they know that this was the warm up, or warning, depending on how you view the world.

* * *

><p>Tuesday started off innocently enough, but breakfast was disturbed by a high pitched scream echoing from the direction of the charms classroom. "NOOOOOOOO!"<p>

The Marauders figured out what elicited such a reaction when they headed to Transfiguration. James was walking backwards talking with Sirius when all the colour drained from Sirius' face.

"What?" James asked.

"You- your- you-"

Then James felt something tickling his chin, when he reached up to brush it away he was greeted by a quickly growing beard. "Merlin's balls!"

Sirius chuckled, "I think you mean Merlin's _beard."_

Unfortunately for Gryffindor house points, Professor McGonagall rounded the corner at that moment. "Mr. Potter, I expect better behaviour from the Head Boy, that will be five points from Gryff- What on earth have you done to your hair? And how on earth did you grow a beard? I was under the impression that you were rather challenged in that department."

The students laughed at James' expense until they too entered the classroom, every single one of them grew a full gray beard and their hair grew/shortened to their shoulders. Only a very few people found this amusing, most reacted the same as Sirius.

"NOOOO! Not the hair! Anything but the hair!" Sirius lamented as he pulled his aged locks up to his eyes.

After he got over the fact that his hair (and face) had been aged, James looked at Lily. It seemed that the girls hadn't been spared, they were also sporting full beards and gray hair. Lily and Hermione were having a whispered conversation with panicked expressions on their faces, every now and then, they gestured to their hair or tugged their beard. What surprised him though, was when they laughed, stood up, and transfigured their clothing into early 19th century men's smoking jackets and slacks, Hermione completed her outfit with a monocle.

"Good Evening." Lily said a loud, fake male voice.

Hermione responded in kind, "And the same to you, Good Sir." They had the attention of the entire class by now, McGonagall included.

Lily sniffed pompously. "It seems as though we've been bamboozled."

"That it does." Hermione replied with a huff and her nose in the air.

"Whatever shall we do?" Lily asked with over exaggerated concern.

"I do believe we should applaud those known as the Marauders."

Lily appeared to think this over very seriously. "I agree, we should thank them for our distinguished appearance." She said, a smile playing around her lips.

"But however shall we do that? We know not who they are."

"We- " Lily broke down in laughter, "Okay, I'm done. But that was great!"

The class cheered and many of them changed their clothing to match the girls'.

McGonagall awarded both girls 20 points and another five to everyone who successfully transfigured their clothing. Then she proceed to do the same before starting class. Throughout the lesson, Hermione discovered a grand total of _11_ different ways to get her monocle to fall out. Both Hermione and Lily expressed their disappointment when the beards disappeared as they left the classroom, they did leave their clothing as it was. This turned out to be a good thing because they were similarly effected when they walked into Charms.

"I can't believe they assumed it was the Marauders!" Peter exclaimed in a whisper as they were leaving Charms.

"Well, we do have a tradition and the new guys haven't done much yet and nothing like this, they've only done big things in the Great Hall and they both had their names on them." Remus said.

"Still. I don't like it. The steam yesterday and now the beards..." James grumbled.

Sirius shrugged, "We'll just have move up our next prank, is it ready yet?"

"No." Remus answered with what _might _have been considered a pout. "We have to wait until at least Thursday."

"That's fine." James said. "These new guys can't possibly pull three in a row, pranks just don't work like that." The others agreed with him but Remus looked a little worried.

Later that afternoon, as the Gryffindor Quidditch team was flying drills, James noticed something. "Hey guys, check out the lake!"

The team looked over to the lake and saw that it was covered in some sort of foam and there were tentacles waving around in the air. They all flew over and saw that someone, somehow, had poured a shit ton of soap into the lake. "How the bloody hell did they manage _that_?" Sirius asked.

"I have no idea." The girl next to him responded, "The Marauders are good but I'm pretty sure there's someone else helping out...I mean, who would think to put soap in the lake?"

James agreed, "Yeah, I would understand if it was Snape's hair, but the lake? That I just don't get."

"Holy Merlin!" A Chaser exclaimed. "It's that new poltergeist, he's playing with the squid!"

"Hellion? I didn't know the ghosts and poltergeists could get out of the castle." James said.

"It's like he's giving the squid a bubble bath."

"What's a bubble bath?" Sirius asked

"The best thing in the world but never mind. That's just weird." There were murmurs of assent before the team went back to training. James was wondering if it was possible for the poltergeist to have pulled the other pranks, but he didn't think so. The pranks were pretty advanced magic, this was just soap, vanilla scented, if he was correct.

James plopped down at the dinner table next to Hermione and Sirius sat next to him. "You'll never guess what Hellion did today."

Hermione and Lily looked at each other across the table, _Hellion?_ "What?" They asked.

"He filled the lake with vanilla soap." James said as he loaded his plate with mashed potatoes and gravy.

Lily giggled, "You noted the _scent_ of the soap?"

James obviously was obviously paying more attention to his food than the conversation because he replied, "Well yeah, it was nice. He could've used some citrus shit, but-" James finally realised that he was talking about soap. "Um..."

Unfortunately for Sirius, he too wasn't paying much attention, "Well, I personally would have preferred coconut, possibly a tropical mix, but hey, you can't have everything in life." The entire surrounding Gryffindor table burst out laughing, James Potter and Sirius Black had opinions on scented soap! Both boys turned bright red (a rare predicament for them) but soon they joined in with the laughter.

As they were going to get up from the table, Hermione and Lily 'realised' that they couldn't stand up. "Um, guys?" Lily said.

The boys were busy talking. So Hermione tried instead, "Oi!" She yelled in James' ear.

"Gah! What?" James asked as he nearly fell off the bench in surprised.

"Can you stand up?" Hermione asked.

"Um, yes." He replied as if she was an idiot.

Lily scowled at him, "Have you _tried_ recently? We're having a bit of difficulty."

James tried to stand up and found him unable. "Ah fucking Merlin!"

"Language, Potter!" Lily said loudly.

Pretty soon, everyone in the hall realised that they were stuck to their seats. And they weren't happy about it, especially the Marauders.

"Okay, that's it, _this means war!_" Sirius hissed at James.

Hermione smirked at Lily and subtly signed across the table, 'Mission accomplished.'

'Let the games begin.' Lily responded.

* * *

><p>Breakfast on Wednesday morning saw every single shirt or jumper reading "THIS MEANS WAR!" The students and teachers realised that the 'Bandits' meant business and that they, the innocent occupants of the castle, were about to be in the middle of a prank war. During breakfast, the Gryffindor Quidditch team mentioned that they'd seen Hellion giving the squid a bubble bath yesterday and a Ravenclaw mentioned that the poltergeists were writing rude messages on the walls in the same soap. By the time classes began, people feared that it was going to be a three way war, this did not bode well.<p>

The next people to be hit were the teachers, as soon as they left the Great Hall, they started speaking in pirate. And not just a few words, it was honest to goodness, traditional pirate. This made lessons interesting, it was probably the first History of Magic lesson that people actually listened to, especially since Binns didn't even notice the change. The "floating and sinking and floating and sinking and floating of the Garrrrblins" were much more interesting than the Goblin Rebellions. One of the great things about this prank was that many of the Purebloods had no idea what a pirate was, like the fake tans from before, the Muggleborns once again had to explain. Even the Slytherins wanted to know what the bloody hell was going on and the answers were outside their house, much to their chagrin. Regulus and Snape, who secretly asked Hermione, Lily or Sirius, had the privilege of knowing that they knew something their housemates didn't. And there was no _way_ they were going to tell anyone else, Slytherins don't share unless there's something in it for them, they also _love_ feeling smug.

After lunch, the students' fears that there were three groups were realised. Peeves and Hellion had managed to get their hands on water balloons filled with some kind of potion that would turn your hair and clothing a different colour (coughBanditscoughcough). The great thing was that the potion didn't leave you soaked, it didn't even hit the floor, there was no mess, it was just really annoying. By dinner time, nearly half the students and teachers had various coloured robes and hair. The amazing thing was that the "THIS MEANS WAR!" shirts were still as readable as they had been in the morning. Strangely enough, Lily and Hermione managed to be two of they few people who _hadn't_ been hit.

The students and professors were infinitely grateful that everything went back to normal as soon as they walked into their dorms/bedrooms. But most of them were dreading the next day. There were six exceptions; Lily, Hermione, James, Sirius, Remus and Peter were all but cackling and rubbing their hands together in anticipation.

* * *

><p>On Thursday morning, many students decided that it was worth skipping breakfast to possibly be spared from whatever the next prank was. It was too bad that it had nothing to do with the Great Hall or the food. The first person to notice the beginning of the first prank was Lily.<p>

Lily and Hermione were calmly walking along the hall, minding their own business when all of a sudden Lily yelled "Marauders rule!" And then found that she couldn't say another word, she proceeded to sign angrily at Hermione.

'Damn those Marauders! Putting words in my mouth, the Marauders _don't_ rule! I'm going to kill James. Correction; I'm going to castrate him, shove his bloody balls down his throat, seal his nose closed and watch him choke to death on his own genitalia!'

Hermione laughed. "Why Lily, I didn't know you knew those signs. I have to say, I'm proud."

'Fuck off.' Lily signed with a death glare.

"Oh come on, you know you don't mean it." Hermione said.

"Wait! What?" James asked looking between the two of them, it was worse than that one time he heard Remus use the fellytone! He could only hear one side of the conversation, but this time he could see both expressions. "What did she say?"

Then Lily signed two unmistakable things, 'fuck you' and 'you're so dead'.

"Okay okay, I'm sorry." Hermione said quickly while everyone stared at Lily in disbelief, those gestures just weren't meant to be made by the Head Girl. Then Hermione got hit too. "Marauders rule!" She scowled and hexed a suite of armor to repeatedly facepalm.

'Okay, I'm sorry.' Hermione signed at Lily.

'Yeah, not so fun once you're on the receiving end, is it?' Lily replied, perfectly conveying her annoyance with her signs.

"I really don't like it when they do that." Remus grumbled. "I tried learning that finger language, it's too complicated, even for me." Then he was hit and had to stop talking. The Marauders didn't want to include themselves in this one but knew they had to keep up appearances.

Lily and Hermione smirked at each other. 'And they get their comeuppance.' Hermione signed.

'Still, they are going to regret this tomorrow.' Lily signed with an evil glint in her eye.

'Oh yes. I say they only get baby blue, orange and black, though we might have to let them have a few regular.'

Lily looked at the boys; Remus and James had both lost their voices by now. 'Hey, at least it shut him up.' Lily signed, pointing at James.

'Hey, we're annoying them with our signing again.'

Lily pasted a dreamy expression on her face. 'I love this.'

'I can tell.'

"We're leaving, you two are-" Sirius never got to finish that thought. "Marauders rule!"

The second prank of the day started right before everyone's second class; every single thing that people touched was left with a hand print, in the middle of the print was a huge 'B' with the names Nomad, Inky and Sly written around it, leaving no doubts as to who was responsible. There was some fail safe in the spell though, the hand prints never overlapped, that way you could _always_ see the print. They didn't get smudge or so layered up that they couldn't be read. Books, desks, quills bags, doors, nothing was spared, not even skirts or pants where they had been moved for certain personal hygiene activities. It only took Remus a few hours to notice that Hermione and Lily had both been to the bathroom but had no compromising marks on their pants or skirts. He pulled out a piece of parchment at lunch and accused her of figuring out how to lift the spell. Then she reminded of a small thing called 'magic'. He was really confused, then it clicked, you can magically move your clothing. That explained the lack of prints on many of the girls', especially the Gryffindor ones, clothing. Word, written at least, had gotten around about the easy way to escape that particular embarrassing side-effect. However, some people (coughSiriuscough) took advantage of this and started intentionally placing their hands on strategic places on others. Soon, many students were sporting a hand print on their ass. Lily and Hermione were spared because those responsible were more than a little scared of those particular girls.

The third prank wasn't so much a prank as just hilarious, annoying and deafening. Just as afternoon classes were starting, everyone was treated to an example of the new definition for the phrase 'Bells and whistles'. Peeves and Hellion burst through the wall of a fifth year defense class. Peeves was fluorescent pink and Hellion was lime green; they each held a set of cymbals and there were cow bells, fog horns, trumpets and shrill penny whistles circling around them. Needless to say, everyone's ears were ringing by the end of the day. There were three main topics of conversation at dinner (via parchment); how long this was going to last, who was responsible, and how the hell the poltergeists managed to learn magic. Unbeknownst to everyone except themselves, Lily and Hermione had placed silencing spells over their ears during lunch because they knew just exactly how loud Peeves and Hellion were going to be. After all, they _had_ been the ones to get the poltergeists all set up. They were also the only ones who carried on a 'normal' conversation during dinner, in truth, they were planning the embarrassment of the Marauders.

By Friday morning, people had given up trying to avoid the pranks, all they could do was eat their breakfast and hope that the war ended soon. There was a sigh of resignation when everyone's shoes were turned into fluffy animal slippers corresponding with their house mascot. With every step, they made completely random animal noises; the worse was when one foot was an elephant and the other a really loud rooster, that was just not pleasant to listen to. The only good thing was that they were silent in class.

However, getting to class was a task in and of itself. Placed completely randomly around the castle were hundreds of sprigs of mistletoe in almost every colour of the rainbow that stopped you until a certain action had been taken. Fortunately, it only caught those in fifth year and up so the youngsters wouldn't be scarred for life. The first strange thing was that as soon as you were caught, the mistletoe would yell out one of five names; Nomad, Inky, Sly, Peeves or Hellion. There was regular mistletoe, that was easy enough to figure out, get caught, have it scream "NOMAD" get a kiss from the opposite sex, move on, simple. Then there was the lime green ones that screamed "INKY!" It only took people a few tries to figure this one out, just have an all-out snogging session and it would let you go. The yellow ones (Sly!) were figured out completely accidentally; a seventh year Slytherin guy was caught when a fifth year Ravenclaw guy came around the corner a little too fast and fell into the Slytherin, managing to give him a sort of violent hug. When the mistletoe let them go, they were _extremely_ relieved that it was yellow, neither wanted to have _anything_ to do with kissing the other. Orange (Hellion!) didn't even catch you, it just forced you to cross dress, red (Peeves!) would undo the effects of the orange ones. Navy blue (also Peeves!) was similar to red and orange in that it didn't really catch you, it just forced you to dance the Funky Chicken while singing Ave Maria at the top of your lungs. Then things got interesting.

The six friends were walking to DADA, with James and Hermione leading the way, when they passed under a sprig of regular piece of mistletoe, it yelled "NOMAD!" Hermione sighed and turned to James, pasting a lovesick, starstruck expression on her face.

"James, I have dreamed of this day my entire life! I've spent sleepless nights pining for you! I didn't know how to tell you before, but I am completely and absolutely head over heels in love with you!" Hermione exclaimed before planting an over-exaggerated kiss on his shocked lips. She then promptly fell over laughing.

Once James got over the shock of it, he laughed his head off too. Lily on the other hand, wasn't laughing, when they had planned this prank, she had completely forgotten that she'd have to participate. She grabbed Remus, "There is no way on earth I'm kissing James or Sirius! Or Peter come to think of it..." She missed the look of pain on James face. So she dragged Remus to the offending vegetation and _very_ quickly pecked him on the lips before pointing her wand at her mouth and washing it out with copious amounts of water.

Hermione sighed, "Does this mean I'm responsible for getting the rest of you through?" Sirius grinned but Peter glanced behind him.

"Get him through fast, I like the Hufflepuff heading this way. You can tease me about it later." Peter said in a rush.

Hermione shrugged and beckoned to Sirius, "Come on handsome, lets get this over with." Sirius grinned, they kissed, and the five of them hurried around the corner only for Hermione to get stuck under a piece of _baby_ _pink_ mistletoe and for James and Remus to run right past. Sirius and Lily came to a screeching halt. Lily looked at the colour and stifled a grin, shecouldn't wait to see the guys' reactions. Especially because she knew there was a matching baby blue one between them and DADA.

Sirius looked between Remus and Hermione, "I was pretty sure Hermione was in front of Remus a minute ago."

Hermione pretended to scowl, "I was."

"Then why are you stuck and he's not?" James asked.

Lily made a show of looking a the colour, "It's pink." She widened her eyes at Hermione. "You don't think..."

"Oh they wouldn't." Hermione said, now looking as 'concerned' as Lily.

Sirius figured it out. "Oh I love these guys!"

_You won't in a few minutes..._ Lily thought smugly. "I don't." She said, matching Hermione's scowl with one of her own.

"What?" Asked Remus.

Sirius grinned, "It's _girls_ mistletoe! It only catches _girls!"_ He straightened up and stalked past Hermione.

Lily looked at Hermione, and Hermione, who was facing away from the boys, winked. Lily walked right up to Hermione, grabbed her face and brought her lips right up to it. From the boys perspective, it looked like she kissed her smack dab on the lips, actually she kissed her cheek, but the boys didn't need to know that. They both turned around, grinned and walked past the boys whose jaws were hanging out on the floor.

Remus blinked, "Did they actually do that?"

James swallowed, "Yup."

"That was the sexiest thing I've ever seen!" Sirius said with a face-splitting grin.

When they followed the girls around the next corner, they weren't smiling anymore. Hermione and Lily had both conjured chairs and were pointing at the ceiling with matching smirks on their faces.

"You have GOT to be kidding me!" James groaned.

"Ah, fuck no!" Was Sirius' contribution.

Remus just paled.

"What goes around comes around." Hermione said sweetly as James winced and stepped forward.

"NOMAD!"

"I'm killing Nomad, whoever the hell he is." James muttered.

Hermione and Lily watched as James and Remus grimaced and kissed each other _as fast as possible_. Unfortunately, they forgot that there were three of them. There then ensued a five minute argument between James and Remus, which Remus lost. He returned to the mistletoe, made a 'yuck' face and kissed Sirius.

Lily smirked and signed to Hermione, 'I wonder if anyone else will figure out you only have to kiss them on the cheek for these ones?'

'Probably not.' Hermione signed back before standing, vanishing their chairs and continuing on to class. 'But I _will_ be telling if I manage to get caught with someone other than you.' Lily nodded in agreement as they left the boys who were too busy washing their mouths to notice.

Purple (Sly!) was also an accidental discovery, two really _really_ good friends got caught under it and were planning on giving a show but when they gave each other a high five, they were released. The crowd was a bit disappointed to have lost the show but also relieved that they could get through the purples without a kiss. White (Manic laugh!) was by far the most embarrassing, you were stuck for a minute whether you liked it or not, meaning you were left guessing and 'experimenting' for the entire time, only to be released. Black (Inky!) was also embarrassing because it was random. Completely random. In fact, when Hermione and Lily got stuck under one they tried everything and still didn't get released, turns out, it was a combination of everything and anything; sometimes it was a high five and a hug, a hug and kiss, a hug _while_ kissing, much to both of their horror, the only thing they were left with was an all-out snog. It was a good thing Hermione had erected indestructible privacy barriers after the first few tries, people were just a little _too_ interested in their activities, especially the boys. When asked later, they refused to say what they finally figured out and Lily had trouble looking Hermione in the eye for a while. Hermione on the other hand, just thought it was funny, so Lily got over it in less than two hours.

By dinner time, every single student, fifth year and up, had been embarrassed in some way or another, the poltergeists made sure that no one escaped the day unscathed. The sixth year Gryffindor boys seemed to have the worst of it though, for some reason they had _only_ found themselves caught under orange, baby blue, white and only twice did they get regular green. This meant they ended up wearing dresses all day, kissing a fair number of guys, and having to guess what the blasted plant wanted them to do. One of the best things (or so those responsible thought) was that the poltergeists raced around the castle switching up the colours, after the one incident with the black mistletoe, Hermione had a few words with Hellion and he agreed to make sure that such a thing didn't happen again. Just as they were finishing up dinner, a huge dragon hat appeared on everyone's head and they all roared "TRUCE!" It seems the Marauders wanted to go out with a bang, they knew they lost with battle, but they refused to lose the war! And if the new guys had the help and cooperation of the poltergeists...well, the boys were going to need some help of their own...

The hall erupted in cheers, the war was over! What's more, they got to keep the hats! The dragons on the hats fell asleep when taken off and if you tickled it, it roared and snapped at you. Unfortunately, when they snapped, it was more like a bite. The hospital wing received quite a few patients with bloody fingers. Draco dormiens nunquam titillandus.

* * *

><p>Author's note: There you go, two chapters in 15 minutes! The price is that you will have to wait a while for the next one.<p> 


	22. Revenge

**Preventing the Future**

**Chapter Twenty Two Revenge**

* * *

><p>Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter.<p>

Author's note: Okay, this chapter is heavy on the angst and violence, it might even warrant an 'M' rating for graphic violence. The next one will be much lighter. Just thought I should warn you in case you wanted to wait for something a bit happier. Enjoy!

* * *

><p>The second week of October was much more relaxing for the general student populace than the first, but not for Hermione, the DADA teacher had decided that because Hermione was so advanced in what she called 'Inventive Dueling' that she would be giving lessons once a week during normal class time. Apparently it didn't matter that Hermione wasn't too keen on teaching anyone other than the Marauders and Lily to fight, Hermione was all but <em>ordered<em> to teach the lessons. Snape was approached as well but he point blank refused, after the duel he had gone back to being Snape, the loner potions freak. People just gave him a wider berth than usual, he didn't mind this one bit. The seventh year students could either attend the normal classes or they could learn from Hermione. This was the only part of the set-up that Hermione suggested and was listened to about, this way, she only had to deal with people who were serious about learning her style and Death Eater wannabes refused to be taught by a Muggleborn. So she didn't have to worry about teaching good defense to the 'bad' side. On the upside, now that she was teaching defense in class, she could work on more complicated things with her friends when they practiced in the RoR.

**Flashback**

"Okay guys," Hermione said, when Lily and the boys met up in the Room of Requirement one evening. "Since you're now learning a bit more real defense from me in DADA, I think it's time to move on to working as a unit."

Lily frowned. "What do you mean by unit?"

"Good question. What I mean is that because we are the only ones who know about the future and the only ones who are taking the fight TO the Death Eaters, as opposed to just responding to attacks, we will almost always be working together. In these sorts of situations, it's best to have specific roles each person plays instead of having it be a free for all." Hermione explained. "So, I've paid attention to each of your strengths and weaknesses and put together a preliminary set-up. The general idea is for each of you to further specialize in a certain area. Peter, you are best at the general shield, in fact, you're really good at them. I can teach you a few more complicated ones which require more power but are much more effective, with others attacking, you can focus your power on the shield. James, you are extremely good at transfiguration. I think you would be best at what I call 'defensive transfiguration'. This is extremely important when fighting Death Eaters because their favourite spells are the unforgivables and others that can't be shielded against, but they _can_ be blocked by _things._ I'd like you to study up on recognising which spells won't be stopped by the shields and then practice directing multiple transfigured blocks. Remus, you'd also be on defense but with spells and more specialized shields, you're also one of the best healers around, only a few steps away from a natural healer. The fact that your observation skills are better and faster than anyone else's, you can also focus on more than one thing at a time. I'd like you to firstly be responsible for healing, this is extremely important because most of Peter's shields will only stop spell fire, they won't stop physical things from getting through. You will need to access a wound and immediately decided the best course of action. Obviously this won't be needed all the time, hopefully not very often, so you will also have to asses the situation around and if we are dominating you can add to the offensive any way you see fit but if we aren't then you will add to the defensive either shielding or spells. Now, offensive, Sirius, you are a natural antagonist. I don't mean that in a bad way but it's true, you are also really good at transfiguration, I can tell you from experience that Death Eaters do _not_ expect spikes etc. to come at them, they expect and prepare for spellfire. Like everyone else, their shields don't usually stop physical attacks, so, you attack physically. There are quite a few nasty transfiguration spells I can teach you. You are also a natural at strong attack spells so that will be your second focus. Lily, when you focus, which I know you can, your spells, especially charms, are extremely powerful. I'm pretty sure that you will be able to blast through some of the weaker shields with only one or two spells, you can also fire quite rapidly, with a bit of practice you will be able to fire fast enough to make an almost solid spell chain. In a multiple person fight you don't want to actually string your spells but you have the mental ability to have the same effectiveness as a Muggle machine gun. You also have a broad repertoire, meaning you will be able to catch many off guard. As for me, well, they won't know what hit them. I will also have a similar job as Remus, minus the healing, despite what you might think, I'm actually a pretty shitty healer. Any questions?"

The five of them just sat there blinking rapidly, it was a lot to take in. James however, seemed a bit miffed. "Why am I on defense?"

Hermione had seen this coming, she knew that in a situation such as this, James would expect to be attacking and Lily defending. It was a guy thing. "Because you have the ability to control many things at once and I'm pretty sure you will be able to do multiple transfigurations. Despite how simple that may sound, it's _very_ hard, even with my new wand I can only do 15 at once. Don't forget that you also have to identify which spells to block and which to let the shields take care of, one missed killing curse and we all go to hell in a hand basket. The whole idea here is to play to our strengths, not to get glory etc, this is to stay alive. When I first started fighting it was exhilarating to know that I was making sure the Death Eaters were taken down, I soon realised that without extremely good front-line defenders we would all be dead in minutes. Do you know how many regularly used curses can't be stopped by a shield, no matter how powerful?"

James frowned as if trying to figure out if he knew any spells other than the unforgivables which couldn't be shielded against. He sighed, "More than three."

"Yes. The actual answer is six. There are six curses and spells which we will probably encounter that just can't be shielded against. The three unforgivables, fiendfire, Voldemort's personal cutting curse and the organ exploding curse." Hermione said, hoping that would convince James that his job was just as important as the others.

"Oh." James said with wide eyes, especially because he'd never heard of the organ exploding curse, it sounded awful. "Okay."

"Any other questions?" Hermione asked.

"Yeah." Sirius said, "How did you figure this all out?"

Hermione smiled and made sure not to look at Lily, James and Peter, when she answered, Lily was the only one who knew that she and James were dead before the second war started and that Peter hadn't fought _with_ them. "I figured it out by watching you last time. Remember what I said to you after my little excursion?" She asked Remus.

Remus blushed as he remembered her little outburst. "Yeah, you yelled at me, said I'd ripped your clothes off, then you called me a wuss."

"Correct, sorry about the insult by the way, I was a bit...well, sorry."

"It's okay." Remus mumbled.

"Anyway, you were the most efficient healer around. Don't get me wrong, Poppy was the _best_ healer, but you were the most efficient. I remember a few times when there was a big debate as to who got to have you on their team. I usually won, in case you were wondering." Hermione said with a smug smile.

The other boys chuckled and Remus blushed again, he didn't really have a reply to that.

Lily smiled, "So, shall we get started?"

And they did. They continued to meet almost every day to practice but now they worked on fighting in unison. Of course, they didn't _just_ focus on their special jobs, in fact, that only took up half their time. They learned to fight individually, in two and threes and each of these in different combinations. For example; James was fighting with Peter, Peter stayed defensive and James went offensive; Lily was with Sirius, Lily went defensive, Sirius offensive; Remus with James, both offensive and defensive; Remus, Lily and Peter, Lily offensive, Remus and Peter defensive; James, Sirius and Remus (this was an extremely deadly combination), James defensive, Sirius and Remus offensive. Who ever was on defense was in charge unless the attacker saw something, this was because the defender usually tired faster. If Peter was on his own it was vacate the premises asap; Sirius or Remus on their own, asses and decide; James or Lily alone, retreat to cover or another group (mostly because Hermione hadn't seen them in action on their own the combinations went on and on and they got better and better week by week. When Hermione was with a group it was, listen to whatever she says and stay out of her way. Hermione drilled them in portkey and apparation evacuation, hostage rescue, hiding, raiding, full frontal assault, and many other scenarios. She taught them the importance and subjectivity of a judgment call. They were getting good, really good, but they still had a long way to go.

**End Flashback**

A week before the end of October, Remus noticed that after spending the evening and first part of the night with them in the common room, the Founders Hall or the boys dorm, she would go to bed only to get up two hours later. When he mentioned this to the others, they decided to find out what she was doing that was so much more important than sleep.

One night, they went to bed early only to slip out of their beds and sneak to the Room of Requirement before she got there. They hid in the version of the room she had been using, when they entered they saw 30 training dummies spaced randomly around the room. They waited patiently for Hermione and then they had stood, transfixed, as they watched Hermione rain destruction down on the dummies. From the moment she had entered the room, Hermione seemed to have a single purpose; take down all 30 in the shortest time possible. As the door clicked shut behind her, the dummies had started throwing spells, coloured to simulate what they might be, if they hit her that colour stayed on her clothing, her fighting clothing. Hermione whipped through the dummies, they never stood a chance, two and a half minutes later, their remains were scattered around the room in various states of destruction. Hermione hadn't uttered a single work and not a single spell had hit her. What was disturbing was that many of the dummies had been _brutally_ destroyed, as if they had been killed in a way that was both effective and extremely painful. Arms were torn off, hearts were ripped out, insides decimated, necks twisted till they broke, bodies sliced in two from head to toe and worse.

In a final moment of anger, Hermione transfigured all the heads (that were still intact) into one of the three Lestrange's faces, then she cast fiendfire, watched for a moment as it literally ate away at them and then walked out of the room. The boys and Lily barely made it out before the fire consumed everything in the room. Hermione stood across the hall and glared at them.

"If I hadn't already known that you were in there, I could have done to you, what I did to those dummies. You're extremely lucky that I am one of the few people capable of properly controlling fiendfire."

"You mean, we would've died?" Sirius asked, looking terrified.

"Yes. Fiendfire is one of the most destructive forces in the world, it's really hard to control. If I didn't know how then you would be rather crispy right now." Hermione said calmly, her voice like steel. "Why did you follow me?"

They all had the grace to look ashamed, but there was still the scared look behind their eyes.

"What were you doing? That was..." James asked.

"I'm going after that bitch Bellatrix and the pathetic excuses for people she calls in-laws. I hope you don't mind Sirius, but I'm going to rip her to shreds and burn what's left."

"Be my guest." Sirius said. "I never liked her anyways."

Lily took a good, long look at Hermione, "I can see it, in your eyes."

"What?" Remus asked.

"I can see the part of Hermione that will enjoy making the Lestranges suffer." Lily said, taking a step back from Hermione as she remembered what she had just seen. "The part that _wants_ to make them hurt, to make this as painful as possible." She hugged herself as tears welled up, this was a side of her friend she hadn't even seen the night she went after Dolohov and Avery, and she didn't like it.

Hermione stared at Lily, "It's not pretty is it?" Lily shook her head and Hermione continued. "This is what watching your friend being tortured right in front of you, knowing you're next and wishing you could end it all right then, does to you."

James looked at Hermione and didn't see his friend and pseudo-teacher, instead he saw a soldier, the product of a war that never ended. And he was scared shitless, it showed on his face and on the faces of his other friends.

Hermione looked at Sirius, he had referred to her as 'cute', 'hot' and 'beautiful' in the past, now he looked at her like she was anything but. Hermione couldn't stand the looks on their faces and it crushed her.

"Before you run off in terror I want to share a quote by the Muggle philosopher Nietzsche, _'He who fights with monsters should look to it that he himself does not become a monster. And when you gaze long into an abyss, the abyss also gazes into you.'_ Well guess what guys, I've fought the monsters and I've stared into the abyss, this is what I became!" Then she felt herself getting mad; these people, her friends, were looking at her as if she was going to attack them. She had been teaching them, learning with them, living with them for the last month and a half, now they were scared of her, and that _hurt._ She had hidden this part of herself for a very good reason, it had started coming back when she dealt with Dolohov and Avery. But she didn't want people to fear her, well, not these people. She had hoped that they would pick up on the fact that she had a part of her like this, and they probably had. But it was one of those 'you have to see it to believe it' things, the thought might have been hanging around in the back of their heads, now they saw it. But this wasn't Hermione as a person, this was just a part of her, she had hoped that maybe the good parts of her that they _had_ seen would allow them to accept or at least overlook this part, but yet another part of her knew that that wouldn't happen. So it hurt, it really hurt. Especially because she knew that two of these people had fought in the same conditions as she had, Remus, and Sirius to a certain extent, had been almost as bad as her. To see them, even as younger people, looking at her like this nearly broke her heart. And instead of curling up and crying, she went somewhere emotionally safe, she reverted back to anger.

"Why did you guys come here? WHY DIDN'T YOU ASK? Why couldn't you keep your noses out of my business for once? This is part of me that NO ONE NEEDS TO SEE! There's a reason you haven't seen me like this before, there's a reason I keep this hidden, AND IT'S WRITTEN ALL OVER YOUR FACES! I SCARE YOU! You'll never be able to look at me again without seeing the person who can violently decimate 30 top level auror training dummies in less than three minutes. I know that no matter how hard you try, YOU'LL NEVER BE ABLE TO FORGET THIS! What's more, up until a month ago, I WOULDN'T HAVE CARED! BUT NOW, EVERY TIME I SEE A FLICKER OF FEAR IN YOUR EYES, IT WILL HURT!"

By the time Hermione had finished, she was yelling, her voice echoing along the corridor. She had whipped up a wind that blew her loose pants around and had dislodged some of her hair from it's braid. She was emitting a _visible_ aura of powerful red, silver and black. The others were beyond terrified; this was the reason Hermione had lived to the end of the war, the reason she had held on until there was nothing left to hold.

An angry tear rolled down Hermione's cheek and she flung the door back open with a flick of a finger. "Are you happy now? Happy that you know my other side? Because I'm sure as hell not." She finished quietly.

As the door swung closed they saw Hermione start blasting, cutting, hexing, eviscerating, slashing and obliterating dummy after dummy. Then, a split second later, the door swung shut with a god awful bang and they were left standing in the corridor wishing they had just asked.

Hermione slid down the wall, looked at the destruction around her and cried herself to sleep with hot tears of anger, shame, and regret.

Lily and the boys sat on the floor of the common room and stared blankly at the dying embers of the fire. None of them knew how, or even if, their friendship could be salvaged. An apology would be like trying to use a band aide to reattach a limb. They fell asleep right there, each lost in their own depressing thoughts.

* * *

><p>The next morning <em>everyone<em> woke up with sore backs and necks but knew that they still had to go to class, whether they liked it or not. Lily and the boys didn't even bother getting changed, they just cast a few freshing charms and splashed water on their faces. Lily got some strange looks from her roommates, but really couldn't be bothered to care.

Hermione popped through the Founders Door to Gryffindor tower, grabbed her book bag and uniform, and popped down to the Entrance Hall via the door. She got there just in time to see the boys and Lily sit down. With a deep breath, she sat down in her regular spot which Lily had left open for her. No words were exchanged and Hermione kept absently rubbing her wand. She kept this up all day and Lily and James exchanged worried looks, They charmed their parchment in History of Magic.

(A/N: _italics is Lily_ and _**bold italics is James**_)

_James, have you noticed what Hermione's been doing all day?_

_**Fiddling with her wand? Yes. It's worrying me.**_

_Yeah, me too. I'm afraid she's going to go after Bellatrix and co. tonight._

_**That's exactly what I was thinking. Remember when she got back last time?**_

_How could I not? I cut her shirt and bra off!_

A light pink tinge appeared on James' cheeks. _**Um, I was thinking more along the lines of curse scar. But yeah, it wasn't pretty.**_

_And that wasn't Bellatrix. I've heard stories from Sirius, she's a bloody nutter._

_**Lily, you're swearing again.**_

_Shut up and focus. Bellatrix is worse than those other guys she went after. What are we going to do?_

_**I don't know, but we can't just leave her. I don't care if she's got a dark side, she can't do all this on her own.**_

_I agree, we said we would help, she trusted us with...THIS. I say we set a watch, then if she leaves we can just go wait in the Hall ready to help._

_**How very Slytherin. But I last night, I think don't think it was all anger. I mean, yeah, it ended with shit tons of anger but...I think she was also really sad. I think she was trying to push us away so she wouldn't get hurt. Does that even make sense?**_

_Yeah, it does. I think we kinda betrayed her trust by reacting the way we did. So I think it would hurt her more if we completely ignored her and talked behind her back._

_**Are you saying we should give her silent support?**_

_Yeah, one of us should just say something like 'We will be in the Hall when you need us.'_

_**Or maybe 'Just tell us when you're going and we'll be there.' That way it gives her an out if she wants.**_

_Sounds good. You wanna do it, or should I?_

_**I think I'll do it. She knows you're always kind and caring, coming from me it will be more blunt. Which in this case will probably be better.**_

_Okay. But just so you know, you _do_ have the ability to be kind and caring, you just don't use it._

_**Why Lily, is that a compliment?**_

_No. That's an observation. Class is over, time to go._

* * *

><p>After dinner, when they arrived in the common room, James turned to Hermione. "Hermione, Just tell us when you're going and we'll be in the Hall. Promise."<p>

Hermione stared at James and looked over at Lily, "Planning behind my back? I should have seen it coming." Then she sighed and continued in a small, quiet voice, "Thank you. I'm going at 11."

James and Lily just nodded and let Hermione go up to her dorm. A few minutes later they saw her go through the Founders Door to a room they hadn't seen before, but they let her go. At 10:50 the boys and Lily slipped through the Door and into the Hall where they saw Hermione perched on a couch, wearing her fighting clothing, repaired dragon-hide vest included.

Hermione twirled her wand around her fingers and looked up when they came in, even though she was facing away from the door. "Thanks again guys." She said softly, before putting her mask on and stepping onto the apparation point. She was gone in an instant.

Remus sighed, "Well guys, time to set up."

Lily smiled weakly, "If you think about it, we really should be the ones thanking her."

"Yeah." Sirius agreed. "We don't have any right to judge her, she's got the world on her shoulders."

"And we're here to catch her when she stumbles." James added.

"I think you mean 'fall', that's how the saying goes, 'I'll catch you when you fall'." Remus corrected.

"No." Sirius said, "James is right, it's when she 'stumbles', Hermione would never fall."

There were nods of agreement before silence settled over them like a suffocating blanket.

* * *

><p>Hermione was standing outside the gates to the Lestrange manor. It only took her five minutes to completely and silently crash their entire ward system and soon she was simply walking through the front door. She was not here for subtly, this was not a stealth mission, this was revenge, cold, hard, revenge. These <em>things<em> had held her and the Weasley twins captive for two whole weeks before they managed to escape, it was a miracle they were still sane when they did so. Voldemort had personally overseen their torture which had gleefully been administered by Bellatrix, Rabastian and Rodoluphus. They may not have tortured her in this time line, but that didn't matter to Hermione. She _knew_ that if given the chance, they would do it over, and over again, they were beyond redemption. Hermione heard laughter and screams coming from a room at the end of the hall, so she just followed her ears. There was a little Death Eater party in session; two young, naked girls were the entertainment for the night. The poor girls were ripped to shreds and were being tortured past the point of insanity. It was obvious that they had been raped by almost every single person there, twice by some, and Hermione knew that there was absolutely nothing anyone could do to help them, no way to save their lives and minds. So Hermione took pity on them, sending her patronus to escort them to the afterlife, asking the Universe to make sure they receive there what they had been denied here. Then she sent four rapid cutting curses at various heights which were strong enough to decapitate every single Death Eater in the room, before they even had time to register the fact that there was an enemy in the room. Because she used curses at four different levels, she got everyone except her personal friends, the Lestranges who managed to get out of the way before losing their scalps, heads, necks or chests depending on their height. Hermione growled, a small part of her had hoped that this would be easy, that she might avoid the all-consuming rage she felt building. But that was just not meant to be, her anger screamed to be released, and she did.

The first to go was Rodolophus, he had never been very intelligent and he made the mistake of trying to sneak up on her. Hermione relieved him of his wand hand causing her purse to summon and trap his wand then she cut a huge gash through his midsection and left him to bleed to death. Then came Rabastian and Bellatrix, they attacked at the same time, throwing the darkest curses at her so fast that any normal person would fall immediately, but Hermione wasn't normal. However, she had never personally dueled either Rabastian or Bellatrix, all she knew was that they were good, really good, and they worked well together. So she had her hands full. Even when something hit her, Hermione kept going, never stopping, never pausing and never giving either of them a chance to breath. She felt shrapnel cutting across the back of her head, a curse sliced across her shoulder and her arms were quickly covered in small scratches and cuts. In five minutes, both the Lestranges were fully on the defensive, blocking hex after hex, and curse after curse, finally though, Rabastian managed to hit her leg with a fairly well-controlled blast of fiendfire, Hermione was getting really tired of fiendfire. Rabastian seemed to think that he had won, but hadn't taken into account the fact that Hermione had mastered that fire five years ago. After all, it was one of the only ways to destroy a Horcrux, it was necessary for at least _one _person to know it. So, right after a sizable section of her left thigh was seared, she took that fire, multiplied it by ten and sent it back at it's caster. However, in the precious moments Hermione spent ensuring the fire didn't spread, Bellatrix wrapped a purple whip around Hermione's right leg, from her ankle to her knee, and pulled her flat to the ground, then she hit her with her signature curse, the cruciatus. Pain like a million shards of broken glass shot through Hermione's body, it was a thousand times worse on the curse scar from Voldemort and the burn on her leg erupted in flames. Bellatrix was so surprised at the reappearance of the flames that her curse faltered enough for Hermione to put them out, then it came back full-force. But Hermione had been subjected to the curse countless times in the past (mostly courtesy of Bellatrix herself) and knew how to work through the excruciating pain, especially now that her leg wasn't on fine anymore. Hermione slowly raised her wand and petrified her torturer, who fell to the ground, surprise etched on her face.

"Bellatrix Lestrange." Hermione said coldly, as she walked over to pull her wand from her frozen grasp. "I've waited a long time for this day."

Bellatrix actually looked scared, she was alone and unarmed, surrounded by bodies in her own room, with an unknown enemy standing over her. An enemy whose aura and mask made her look like an angel of Death. The blue-tinted blood running out from under her vest, burn on her thigh which kept sparking at odd moments and the bloody spiral around her leg just served to make her more frightening and stronger, rather than hurt and weak. To her credit though, when Hermione let her speak, Bellatrix's voice didn't waver. "Who are you?"

Hermione grinned and since her date with Dolohov and Avery, she had charmed the gold accents to reflect her true facial expression, it was reflected on the mask, and not pleasantly. "Who am I? That's a very good question, one to which many would like to know the answer to, especially your master. I am the one who so effectively rid the earth of Avery and Dolohov. I've disposed of more Death Eaters than I can count. I'm the one you'll wish just killed you now."

"I would _never_ wish for death you little girl. There's nothing you can do to me that would make me want that. You're weak and pitiful, you may have been able to kill all the others but you people can't torture anyone. You're trapped by your morals, you're too good to 'sink to our level'. Congratulations on the kills, but you don't have torture in you." Bellatrix obviously didn't have a sense of self preservation, everyone knows that taunting someone into torturing you it _not_ good for your health.

"Watch me." Hermione said flatly. Then she ripped each of Bellatrix's arms off, and quickly placed two charms on her; one that made sure she wouldn't die of blood loss and another that ensured the nerves still sent messages to her brain. Bellatrix screamed, she had never been in this much pain, this was worse than her master's cruciatus, worse than anything she'd ever experienced before. And everything went downhill from there.

Hermione looked at the screaming woman in front of her with indifference, then she instantaneously froze all the blood in Bellatrix's detached appendages, causing the water in it to expand and puncture the vessels, driving cold, hard spikes into various bundles of nerves. Bellatrix felt it all and screamed some more, she would have passed out from the pain but Hermione placed an ever-reviving charm, or _curse_ in this case, on her, denying her the pleasure of unconsciousness. Then Hermione set fire to the limbs, making who she considered the worst Death Eater, watch as her arms and legs were turned to ash. Then Hermione silenced Bellatrix so she wouldn't have to yell over the screams.

"I have one question, if you answer it, I will kill you now. Where is Helga Hufflepuff's cup?" Hermione asked, then she numbed all of Bellatrix's nerves. "I've taken the pain away so you can answer, if you don't, it will come back a hundred times worse."

Bellatrix took a shuddering breath, "In the basement, I got it as a gift from My Lord just yesterday."

"Thank you." Hermione said lightly. "Goodbye." As an insult to her once-beauty, Hermione poured acid over Bellatrix's face before chopping her head off. She searched the basement until she found the cup, she walked back upstairs, placed the Horcrux in the middle of the room and then let the fires of hell rip through it. As the door swung shut, the mansion erupted in flames.

Standing at the edge of the wards, Hermione demolished the entire property, when it was found the next morning, there was nothing left. The only identifiable remain was a broken and charred Death Eater's mask, it had been brought to the edge of the wards on an updraft created by the raging inferno that consumed the house. If Muggles had seen what was left, they would have equated the wreckage to that found at the epicenter of an atomic bomb explosion. But news of the attack never got out, Voldemort didn't want anyone knowing that something like that could happen to his precious Death Eaters.

Then Hermione's injuries reminded her of their presence, the burn was still sparking (the result of combining fiendfire and cruciatus), her curse scar felt like it was being branded on, the spiral wound from the whip felt like it was on fire and he other collection of slightly less serious cuts and bruises were beginning to hurt, especially the gash on her shoulder. _Am I scar magnet or something? I mean seriously, no one gets permanently hurt as much as I do!_ Instead of dwelling on her deteriorating complexion, she apparated back to the Founders Hall where she was met by five extremely worried Gryffindors.

* * *

><p>Upon arrival, Hermione seemed to deflate, as if every single molecule of air was rushing out of her body at the same time, she looked just about as bad as she felt, probably worse because she had a high pain tolerance.<p>

"Oh my god, Hermione!" Lily screamed as she saw her friend appear. "How are you still standing?"

Hermione grimaced, "I won't be, for long." And she perched on the edge of the bed again. She would have really like to just lay down, but both her back and front were in need of attention.

Unlike last time, her friends had a general idea of what to do; get the clothes off, survey the damage listen for instructions from Hermione and then get to work.

Sirius jumped up. "I'll do the shoulder."

"I'll get her arms." James said, rushing over to the table with the supplies.

"I've got the um...spiral thing on her leg." Remus said.

"Um, I'll just hand you stuff." Peter said, trying his best not to pass out.

"And I'll do the burn? On her thigh." Lily finished. She saw Hermione taking really deep breaths and turned to Peter, "Peter, get a calming draft. You can take those, right?" Lily asked Hermione as an afterthought.

"Yeah, and that would be _really_ nice. Sirius and Remus, could you get the vest and shirt off? They're not damaged so please don't just cut or rip. I'm sure Sirius can figure out how to get the bra off without cutting it. James, before you do the shoulder, numbing cream on the curse scar would be greatly appreciated. Lily, the pants are trashed, you know what to do." Then she quietly added, "I really do go through clothing quite fast." But no one was paying attention.

Lily cut straight up both pant legs and just let them fall away, revealing a small pair of black shorts, she breathed a huge sigh of relief, _Oh thank god for spandex, this makes things a lot less awkward._ Remus was thinking the exact same thing. However, neither of them knew what to do with their wounds, Lily had a burn that went from Hermione's left knee to just below her shorts, it was glowing orange and had little sparks running around on it. Remus had a cut that was quite wide, gouged half a centimeter into the skin and ran around her leg in a spiral from her right knee all the way down to her ankle.

"Um, Hermione?" Lily asked, "What exactly is this, and what am I supposed to do with it?"

Hermione steadied herself and looked at what Lily was referring to, "Oh, that's a fiendfire burn after immediate exposure to the cruciatus. Those two dark curses have an interesting effect when applied together or in close succession. Ironically enough, the best thing to do at this point is to cover it with foam from a Muggle fire extinguisher, then let it sit for two minutes, vanish it, cover it with hydrogen peroxide mixed with aloe vera gel and then seal it in place."

Lily's eyes widened. "But that's

"A Muggle disinfectant and Muggle sun burn treatment? I know, magic doesn't help for this."

"Okay." Lily said. "How much peroxide to gel?" Lily knew a bit about peroxides from her clean freak sister and knew that high concentrations could burn through skin.

"A 50:50 ratio should work."

"Got it." Lily conjured a mini fire extinguisher and set to work.

Then Remus caught Hermione's attention, "And um...what about this one?"

Hermione lifted her leg a bit so she could get a better look at it, "I have no fucking idea, I've never seen it before."

"What?" Remus squeaked. "But- but- how am I supposed to help if I don't know what to do?"

"I'll just have to teach you the basics of breaking down a magical injury to try and figure out how to treat it." Hermione gasped and gritted her teeth as Lily started spreading the gel and hydrogen peroxide over her burn, but she just curled her hands into fists and continued. "We need to check for magical residue and/or aspects of the wound. The spell is _'revelio maledicam residum', _there's no wand movement. Tell me what colours appear."

Remus cast the spell, "There's a black line running all the way down the middle and the whole thing is glowing light purple. What does that mean?"

"The black means that it was a magically induced wound that will scar no matter what we do, the lighter the shade of black or gray, the higher chance of healing it without a scar. The light purple indicates fading magic. If you cast the spell again in a minute or so, it should be lighter and pretty soon it will be gone." Hermione explained.

"Okay." Remus said. "What do I do in the meantime?"

Hermione frowned as she took a closer look at the wound, he eyes widened as she noticed it's depth and width. "Is it _gouged_ IN my leg?" Remus nodded silently. "Goddammit! It's like a fucking canyon down there!" Remus and Lily leaned away from the irate Hermione while James and Sirius did their best to ignore her outburst, then Hermione continued to mutter to herself. "Crazy woman ripped a hole in my leg with her blasted whip, no wonder it hurts like a bitch! I'm missing strips of skin, hell, I've probably lost _muscle_! Bugger it all, I'm sick of souvenirs! My body isn't a canvas! Well, maybe I could make it one...hey, that's actually a good idea. I could get tattoos to cover these shitty marks..."

Lily snapped her fingers in Hermione's face, "Dude. Snap out of it! Remus needs to know what to do."

"Oh, right. Sorry. Cast the spell again." Remus did so. "Is the purple gone?"

Remus nodded, "Yeah, all that's left is the black line."

Hermione scowled at the mention of the black line. "Okay, get the disinfectant and general healing potion the type that's a cream and spread it all over it. Then just tightly wrap the whole thing with gauze. My magic will do the rest." _I hope._ "If there were more colours we would have had to use, or not use, various potions and spells." Remus just nodded and kept working.

Just as the sun was peaking over the horizon, James put the final bandage away. It had taken all night, but Hermione dealt with a Horcrux, the Lestranges (and assorted Death Eaters) and her relationship with her friends was on the mend. Apparently the best (and probably only) way to move past events such as the one from the night before, was to help patch up the upset person. It was an unspoken apology and acceptance. Hermione had also dealt out the worst of her personal revenge, she couldn't go after Lucius for a few years and Voldemort had to wait.

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><p>Author's note: The next chapter will hopefully be up in the next few days but I've got a rather extensive paper I need to work on so it might a little bit later. Thank you so much for all your reviews!<p> 


	23. Fury, Hogsmead and Fishes

** Preventing the Future**

**Chapter Twenty Three - Fury, Hogsmead and Fishes**

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><p>Author's note: I apologise for the um...delay. I seem to write better during the school year and as some of you may have noticed, it's the summer time. Anyway, I hope that this chapter was worth the wait. Just to help you get back into the swing here is a short recap of the last three chapters:<p>

James, Sirius and Peter were let in on the secret of the Founders Hall.

Hermione took care of Avery and Dolohov, rather violently.

The boys and Lily got a crash course in healing war wounds.

The Bandits and the Marauders have an epic prank war!

Hermione continues training the boys and Lily.

The boys and Lily walk in on Hermione training/working out in the Room of Requirement and get all freaked out.

Hermione goes after the Lestranges and takes the cup Horcrux with her.

Also, someone pointed out to me that I didn't put the locket on Hermione's list of Horcruxes, my theory is that it hasn't been created yet. In my mind, Voldemort made the locket Horcrux and then immediately used Kretcher to place it in the cave, because Regulus was the one who offered the elf, this happened after he left Hogwarts. So, according to me, the locket hasn't been made yet. Thus, only four Horcruxes for Hermione to destroy; the ring, the diary, the cup and the diadem.

* * *

><p>Voldemort sat slumped in his throne-like chair, too shocked to even crucio anyone, 13 Death Eaters were dead. <em><strong>13<strong>_**! **Including the Lestranges. Their entire mansion had been destroyed, he knew they were dead because their Dark Marks weren't responding to him anymore, his link to them had been severed. There wasn't any question as to who was responsible for this, the masked woman. He had no idea _how_ she was still alive, that curse he hit her with at Dolohov's should have killed her in minutes. The only way she could have survived would be if she was extremely powerful or if she had been hit by it, or something similar, before and lived through it. Neither of these options were very reassuring, and he _didn't_ like them. He needed to find out who that woman was, and he needed to get rid of her. The problem was, he didn't have anything to go on, there was no clue as to her identity. He'd never seen or heard of someone like that before. She obviously wasn't with the ministry, even the Unspeakables didn't know spells like that. She wasn't with the Dumbledore contingent, they _did not_ fight like that, they were a responsive group, not an attack group. They wouldn't slash someone to death and they certainly wouldn't squeeze the life out of someone with binding fire and let it continue to burn through until the body was in pieces. And under no circumstances would they use _fiendfire_ to destroy a mansion! That was what really bothered Voldemort, fiendfire was one of the only things that could destroy his horcruxes and he didn't know whether Bellatrix had moved it to her vault or not. And because his soul was already in five pieces; the cup, his diary, the ring, the diadem and his current soul, he couldn't feel them anymore. When he only had three, he had a mental link with each of them but now...now he didn't know if it survived or not. And if it _was_ in her vault, he had no idea how to access it, the Lestranges hadn't left a recent will and the goblins weren't required to read the will unless it was requested by someone who thought they had a claim. Legally, the goblins could spend the next 15 years waiting for it to be read. Voldemort banged his fists on the arms of his throne and wished that there was a follower in the room so he could crucio the life out of them. He called for a few of his weaker minions and did just that, this had the added benefit of scaring the other Death Eaters shitless. Then he assigned a few Death Eaters, including Lucius Malfoy, to investigate this new player.

* * *

><p>Two weeks before Halloween was the first Hogesmead visit and everyone was rushing around trying to get a date, this included the Marauders. It was Thursday afternoon before James realised he hadn't asked Lily out <em>all year!<em> The thought hit him in the middle of doing his transfiguration homework.

"Holy shit!" James yelled, his voice echoing around the Gryffindor common room.

Lily and Hermione stared at him like he was nuts and Sirius smacked him with a book. "What the hell, James?" Sirius asked.

James clapped a hand over his mouth, his eyes as wide as saucers. He grabbed Sirius by the wrist, and dragged the confused boy up to their dorm. The entire common room was silent for a good 30 seconds or so before people went back to their previous conversations.

James dropped onto his bed. "Sirius, I think I'm going crazy."

Sirius just collapsed next to him and swung his arm around him. "Mate, we've known that since first year."

"No, you don't get it." James looked almost panicked. "I haven't asked Lily out _once_ this year!"

Sirius' jaw dropped, "Not once?"

James just shook his head, "Not one single time. I've been spending all this time with her and Hermione, we've talked more these few months than the last six years combined and I think I've fallen more and more in love with her, but I haven't asked her out!"

"Damn. What're you going to do?" Sirius asked.

"I don't know. I mean, can I still ask her out? Has someone else already asked her to go with them? Sirius, I haven't even been hexing guys who looked at her!"

"That might be because she's been around Hermione or us all year." Sirius said logically. "There haven't been many other guys around."

"Oh." James blinked twice.

"Why don't you ask her now?" Sirius suggested.

"I guess I could do that. But would it be weird? Having just the two of us around?"

"I don't know." Sirius said, "You could just ask her for a drink in the Broomsticks before meeting up with the rest of us. That way it won't be a whole awkward day if it doesn't work out."

"I think that might be one of the smartest things you've ever said. Thanks." With that James jumped up and nearly leaped down the stairs and over to where Hermione and Lily were sitting.

Hermione and Lily looked up as James slid to a halt in front of their table, nearly crashing into it. "Uh, hi James." Lily said, "Mind explaining what is so urgent that it can't wait until we all head off to the Hall this evening?"

James' head went into overdrive, did he really want to ask her in the middle of the common room? That had never worked before... "Um...nothing, never mind. It can wait. Anyway, sorry. I'll just be going now."

Lily turned to Hermione, "Okay, that was strange."

Hermione smirked. "I think he just realised that Hogsmead is in two days and he hasn't asked you out all year."

Lily's eyes widened and she shot a glance at James and Sirius who were both scribbling away at their homework. Then she saw that all the eyes in the common room were either fixed on James or her and many of the girls were listening to Hermione and Lily's conversation. Lily tapped Hermione's hand.

"What?" Hermione asked, her attention shifting back to Lily, who started signing.

'Are you sure he hasn't asked all year?'

Hermione rolled her eyes before signing back, 'Seriously? You're so worried about this that we're back to signing?'

'Yes. The entire school likes to know what's going on in James Potter's life. Our spats through the years have been quite high on the gossip ladder in the past.'

'Whatever, to answer your question; yes, I'm sure he hasn't asked all year.'

Lily's eyes widened, 'I can't believe I didn't notice. And he's had so many opportunities...' Her hands fell to the table as she trailed off.

'Maybe he was too busy getting to know you and being normal to remember to pester you.' Hermione suggested.

'I suppose you're right. I mean, we've spent so much time together, the six of us, that having him around just seems right.' Lily signed.

Hermione rolled her eyes again, it was fairly obvious that they worked well together and liked each other, especially since they'd been hanging around in the Hall and learning to fight. 'Yeah, you've been seeing James, not Potter. It does help that you've all done a bit of growing up.'

It was Lily's turn to roll her eyes, '_That_ is your fault.'

'_Fault_, I like to think of it as more of an accomplishment. Anyway, you should think about it. I have a feeling he's going to ask you later tonight. And I mean really _think_ about it, don't just plan an even more embarrassing way to turn him down.'

'Okay, okay, I get it, give him a chance to ask properly. Hey, you never told me who I married...' Lily signed suggestively.

'I don't really think I should tell you that, I'm pretty sure you've figured it out by now anyway. But remember, this will be a different future, things don't have to go the way they did last time. You all have changed since I arrived, what happened before doesn't have to happen again.'

'Hmm, I can think of worse people to marry.'

'Lily! We're not discussing marriage right now, this is about a _date_ to _Hogsmead_. Not rings, flowers and white dresses. And no, I will not be helping out with any of that stuff if you do get married.'

Lily just shook her head and went back to work.

On the other side of the room, James and Sirius were filling Remus and Peter in on the situation, they all looked over at the girls who were signing to each other.

"They're hand-talking again." Sirius complained. "Why do they do that?"

"Because they don't want anyone eavesdropping." Remus said. "The real question is _what_ they're talking about that they don't want heard."

James frowned, "I hope it's not me."

Peter laughed, "Really? I remember a time when you'd be bouncing off the walls if Lily even spoke your name."

"Yeah, well, things have changed." James grumbled.

"That's for sure." Sirius said, rolling his eyes.

James frowned, "You know what? I don't think I'm going to ask her."

Remus dropped his book. "What!"

"We've been having such a great time and I don't want to ruin it by being a git again." James said thoughtfully, "Maybe if I let her get to know the real me some more, she won't turn me down as fast."

"James, I think you actually have something between your ears after all." Remus said, "I think that's the first rational thing you've said about yourself and Lily for six years."

"Oh thanks, that makes me feel so good about myself." James replied with a huff.

Unbeknownst to the boys, Hermione was reading their lips; she couldn't see Peter or Sirius so she didn't know what they were saying but she dutifully translated (into sign language) what she could see to Lily. Needless to say, they were both rather shocked.

'Wow.' Lily signed.

'Yeah.' Hermione responded.

They left it at that and the subject didn't come up again, with anyone.

* * *

><p>On the way to breakfast the next morning, Sirius waylaid Hermione.<p>

"Hermione?"

"Yes, Sirius?"

"Will you go out with me?"

"No."

"Why not?" Sirius asked, rather put out.

"Because I don't feel like it." Hermione said simply.

"But...but..." Sirius had never really been turned down by a girl before. "Ah, whatever." He said as he stood up. "It was worth a try." As he walked away he heard a girl next to Hermione say.

"You don't know _what _you're missing out on there."

"Oh, I think I'll survive."

Sirius frowned as he left the common room.

* * *

><p>That evening, on his way down to dinner Sirius saw Hermione talking with Gerald from Ravenclaw. Gerald was very good looking sixth year, and he knew it. Beside the Marauders, he was probably one of the most sought-after guys in the castle. Sirius really wasn't trying to, but he couldn't really help but to overhear their conversation. Maybe.<p>

"Good evening, Hermione." The guy said, trying to sound suave.

"Oh hello, Gerald." Sirius heard Hermione say politely.

"I was wondering if you would like the honour of accompanying me to Hogsmead this weekend. I noticed you weren't going with anyone and decided to rescue you from your misery."

Sirius smacked his hand on his forehead. "Seriously?" He whispered to himself. There was no way Hermione, or any self-respecting girl for that matter, would say yes to a guy who said the _girl_ would be receiving the _honour_ if she accompanied him. And to say he was rescuing her from her misery? That was just plain rude, and stupid in this case, which was strange seeing as he was in Ravenclaw. When Sirius saw the expression on Hermione's face he grinned. _This should be interesting..._He thought to himself.

Hermione slowly and steadily raised an eyebrow. "If _I_ would like the honour? Is this how you ask all girls out? Try and make them feel as though they should be thanking the stars you arrived to keep them from wallowing in self pity?" There was a _very _dangerous undertone in her voice, it was subtle but it definitely screamed 'run away now if you ever want to have kids.' Sirius knew what she could do with a wand, hell, the whole _school _knew what she could do with a wand, there must have been something extremely wrong with this guy's mental capacities. She had blown through the toughest Slytherins out there and then put on quite the show with Snape. Then there was what she could destroy when she was angry or vengeful, the school might not know about that but still, she wasn't the kind of person you insult.

"Well, yeah." Gerald said, oblivious to his danger, he continued confidently. "You all love it when the guy takes control. And I don't want anyone to feel that no one likes them."

"Really?" Hermione asked, her voice still pleasantly calm and seemingly indifferent.

_Seriously dude, get out of there now!_Sirius thought, still wondering at his stupidity. Maybe he lived in a box and didn't hear about the duels? Maybe he'd have to see it to believe it?

"Yeah." The idiot said with a cocky smile, acting as if he owned the world. "Girls looooove a hunky powerful man, we're like your knights in shining armour." He took a step closer to Hermione.

Sirius snorted.

"Well," Hermione said, moving so there was only a few inches of air between them. "I don't." Then she smiled sweetly, turned around and walked away, flicking her hair in his face in the process.

Sirius started laughing silently.

But Gerald, it seemed, did not take rejection well. As soon as he got his wits together he jumped up, grabbed the back of her sweater and pushed her so she was between him and the wall. He then proceeded to mash his face against hers in what might have been called an attempt at a kiss.

_Not good._ Sirius thought as he prepared to run out from his listening/hiding place to keep Gerald from doing something he'd _really_regret, it wasn't Hermione he was worried about. But apparently he was too late, Gerald had gone too far and nothing Sirius could do would save him from his fate. If the guy wasn't such a dick, one might almost feel sorry for him.

The second Hermione felt Gerald touch the back of her sweater she slipped her wand into her hand, as soon as she found his mouth on her face (he missed her lips) she brought it up and placed it on the back of his head. Before the poor boy knew what had happened he found himself thrown to the other side of the corridor and leaning against the opposite wall. As he tried to regain his composure he realized he couldn't move his legs, looking down he saw that they were slowly being covered in bronze. He looked at Hermione with panic.

"What have you done to me you bitch?!" He screamed.

"Oh, nothing permanent, I promise." Hermione said quietly. "It's just, apparently you were under the impression you were a knight in shining armour. I noticed you were missing the armour part, the knight part was missing too, but we can't have everything can we?" By the time she had finished talking, Gerald was completely covered in bronze plating. He really did look like a suit of armour, he was even shining. The only thing missing was the helmet, but that was about to be rectified.

"But how am I supposed to get out?" He yelled in desperation.

"Don't worry, it'll wear off just before curfew, I hope you can run fast." She said, rather nonchalantly.

"You're such a bitch. You'll never get a guy to like you!" Gerald yelled again, trying to say one last thing before the helmet fully covered his face. Hermione walked up to the new suite of armour and lifted up the visor, staring straight into his face she said.

"Ever think I might not want one?" Gerald just blinked as she let the visor snap shut again. He mumbled something about her overreacting and she said, "You know, you really should have thought about the magical abilities of the people you plan to insult before you open your mouth. It would have saved you some humiliation." She patted the top of the helmet patronizingly, "Now be a good boy and shut up."

"Sirius." Hermione called down the hall. "You can come out from wherever you are now."

Sirius smiled guiltily as he emerged. "How did you know I was here?"

"I heard you smack yourself and then whisper 'seriously'. I also heard your snort and no-so-silent laughter." Hermione said as they walked to the Great Hall to see if there was any dinner left.

"Oh." He said. "You know, I'm really glad that I didn't try to kiss you when _I_asked you out. Cause as much as I love the suites of armour in this castle, I've never really wanted to be one, covering up this face would be a crime. Mind you, I also value my life and ability to reproduce. " He grinned. "How did you do that anyway?"

"I have my ways." Hermione said elusively.

"In other words, it's one of those things that your fancy wand and ever active imagination came up with and I don't want to know how you figured out the exact procedure?"

"Precisely."

They were halfway to the Great Hall before Sirius got the courage to ask about something which had been bothering him all week. He would have asked sooner but he was trying to phrase it in a way that _wouldn't _get him turned into a decoration.

"Hermione?" He said tentatively.

"Yeah?"

"I was wondering, why aren't you going to Hogsmead with anyone? I mean, you've been asked by like, ten guys - myself included - but have turned them all down. Some more gently than others." Here he recalled a Hufflepuff seventh-year who had been so mad at her blunt refusal he had tried to jinx all the Gryffindor guys to make sure she didn't have anyone to go with. Poor guy ended up walking around with a tomato red face, flames for hair and steam coming out of his ears for two hours. According to Hermione he was 'hot headed'. "I mean, sure, some of them are complete ass-holes but a few were fairly decent guys." Sirius finished.

"I just don't want to go with someone. I would rather not spend a day in Madam Puddifoot's confetti-filled tea shop with some guy who's just going to sit there and revel in the fact that he got the new genius girl to go out with him." She shrugged. "It's more fun to have a drink at the Three Broomsticks, raid Honeydukes, and prepare to wreak havoc in Zonko's."

"Well, that I do agree with." Then Sirius frowned. "What's Madam Puttifoot's?"

"Oh, it's a hideous tea shop." Hermione said, she hadn't considered the fact that it wasn't built yet. "I guess you don't have it yet..." Then she had a brilliant idea. "Do you reckon we could go find this Puddifoot woman and wipe all her memories?"

"Um..." Sirius said. "First, I don't think we can lock people up for creating a tea shop, in the future. And second, I don't see what could be so bad about it."

"Oh, you have no idea, even though I managed to _not_ have to set foot in the place, I've heard horror stories from the guys and mushy gooey ones from the girls. Apparently the shop is decorated all in _pink_." She said the word like it was poisonous. "There's confetti falling from the roof, lacy doilies on the tables, cupids playing random, supposedly romantic music, and couples kissing left, right and centre. It's enough to make any self-respecting person sick."

"I see." Sirius said. "Not really your kind of place then?"

"Nope."

"Okay, but I still don't get why you wouldn't go out with someone, someone who wouldn't do that."

"It's just." Hermione tried to find a way to explain this. "I'm just not that interested in guys. If I'm going out I would rather it be with a group of people for whom the last thing on their mind is romance, it's more fun."

"Oh." Sirius tried to understand how an 18 year-old girl wouldn't want anything to do with guys, it was very difficult. Then something occurred to him. "Wait," He said. "You're not gay are you? Cause that would actually explain _a lot_."

Hermione laughed. "No, I'm not gay. It's just that I have enough serious stuff in my life, I want to have fun! And, I'm used to being on my own."

Sirius frowned, again, as they entered the Great Hall. Most people had already finished and left but there was still food on the table so they sat and ate. He thought about his next words carefully - the suite of armour thing was still fresh in his memory.

"What do you mean by 'used to being on my own'? You make it sound like you've just not had romance, ever."

Hermione got a clouded expression on her face. The only time she had done anything romantic was during the Yule Ball which was almost exactly four years ago. After that she had been in the thick of the war. Harry had been lucky, at the end of his third year he had finally gotten together with Ginny, they had something special. In fact it was probably Ginny who got Harry through the war with most of his sanity intact. Hermione on the other hand had been too busy to find romance, she didn't have time to focus on anything except saving those she cared about. She sat there and the memories started pouring over her, good and bad; she had comes to grips with everything, for which she was eternally grateful but there were still times like these that she got caught in the past. When everything she'd seen, everything she'd done rushed aver her. Then she remembered something; all that time, she _hadn't_felt like anything was missing. It was a bit of a shock to realize that apparently she hadn't found love because she hadn't looked for it, and she hadn't needed it. It was a sad realization to come to; the thought of living without love sounded terrible. For some reason however, it didn't bother her...that was something to think about, or not.

Sirius watched as Hermione fell into deep thought. He felt bad for pushing the subject, it was obvious he had shoved his friend back into memories, and that those weren't usually very pleasant for her. _Okay, that's the last time I ask her about romance. _He thought, then Hermione seemed to snap out of it.

"Sorry, I got sidetracked. What was it you asked?"

"Oh, never mind. It doesn't really matter." Sirius said, quickly piling food into his mouth.

"No really, it was something important."

Before Sirius responded, he took a moment to finish chewing his food, something he hardly ever did. "I just asked what you meant by 'used to being on my own.' " Sirius said quietly. "But don't worry about it, it doesn't matter."

"Oh, I just meant that before I started really helping out with the war, I was really too young to be interested in romance that much and once I was at an age where that sort of this would usually be important, I was fully dedicated to the war effort." Hermione shrugged. "Really quite simple."

"That's terrible!" Sirius exclaimed.

"Nah, not really. I'm fine." Hermione said, and it was the truth. She wasn't sad or depressed about it, she hadn't even thought about it before. "It doesn't bother me. In fact, I've found that it makes life so much easier."

"I guess I'm still trying to come to grips with all the nuances of what it means to be in that sort of fight. I probably won't ever understand, but that doesn't mean I'm not going to try." Sirius said, he also started thinking about how he could help her understand that romance wasn't such a trivial thing, sure, he liked to make fun of it, but that didn't mean it wasn't important. And he found himself wishing that the beautiful girl in front of him was a bit more interested in it. He shoved those ideas away before they had time to turn into full-fledged thoughts, that would be leading to dangerous territory.

Hermione laughed. "Thank you. I can honestly say I don't want you to fully understand because to do that, you have to experience it, and I wouldn't wish that on anyone. Except the Death Eaters, but I'm not sure they count as people."

"_That_ I have to agree with." Sirius said with a grin. "And thank you for dealing with them."

With that they finished eating and went back to the common room to write a potions essay about the results of brewing a love potion wrong. Quite ironic really.

* * *

><p>The trip to the village that Saturday went perfectly fine, the six of them spent part of the morning in the Room of Requirement working out and training and trooped off to the Three Broomsticks after showering. They wandered around town, bought sweets, Lily and Remus dragged them all into the bookshop, James and Sirius dragged them all into Zonkos and Peter and Hermione laughed at them all (Hermione also surreptitiously bought a few helpful books as well as minor pranking supplies).<p>

When they all returned to the Gryffindor tower, the boys holed up in their dorm to discuss the problem of the Bandits. They came to the conclusion that the Bandits were just too good, the Marauders had been working for years and had a reputation to uphold but those Bandits knew how to prank on a much larger scale than the Marauders ever had before.

"I have a suggestion, but you're not going to like it." Peter said quietly. "You'll _really_ not like it."

James perked up. "At this point I'm willing to go for almost anything."

Peter winced. "We could bring Hermione and Lily in for help."

Sirius, Remus and James all frowned but they also looked like they were considering it, it was a sign of how desperate they were, that James was considering admitting to _Lily_ that he was responsible for many of the pranks over the year.

After another few hours of discussion, they finally decided that they needed the help.

* * *

><p>Sunday morning, the boys waited in the common room for the girls so they could ambush them before breakfast. James looked up as Hermione and Lily descended from their dorm, he exchanged a glance with Sirius who nodded. "Ladies!" James called. "Would you be so kind as to accompany us to the kitchens for breakfast?"<p>

Lily looked at them rather suspiciously, "Would _you_ be so kind as to explain your reasoning?"

"Of course." James said with a mock bow. "We have a proposition that would best be not overheard."

Hermione smiled, "In that case, lets stop by the kitchen and I will show you all another destination of the Founders Door. Believe me when I say, this is one of the coolest."

A light lit behind five sets of eyes, if Hermione said it was cool, well, it was probably spectacular. The five seventh years all rushed to get out of the common room, which really confused the rest of the Gryffindors. They were used to the odd antics of the seventh-year boys and Hermione was a wild card, but Lily? Lily wasn't supposed to be battling her way out of the door with James, that just wasn't right. They shook their heads, it was Hogwarts, laws of the universe just didn't apply sometimes.

After picking up enough food to feed a small army, Hermione led them through the Founders Door to the underwater Lake Study Room. The boys and Lily's faces were priceless as they stood in awe of the bottom of the Lake, the light from the surface was somehow magnified so it reached all the way down to the room, even though there were many metres of water above them. Once they had finished oogling the room, Hermione directed them to one of the larger groups of chairs and they settled down to talk and eat.

"So," Lily started, "What was it you needed to talk with us about?"

"Well, remember the prank war?" James asked, he'd volunteered to be spokesman for this meeting.

"Yes..." Lily said with a frown.. "What about it?"

"Um, well, we...um...kinda need your help." James said softly.

Lily looked at the boys, "Hold on," Then she turned to Hermione and spoke in a voice just loud enough for the boys to over hear, "I _can't_ believed they're going to ask for help with pranks!"

Hermione gave a small smile, "I know, you'd think James had more sense of self-preservation than that."

"I mean, he's the Head Boy, asking the Head Girl to break the rules, in the presence of a prefect!"

"Yeah, but you have to keep in mind that the Head Girl and the prefect are already on their way to breaking plenty of rules themselves. Have you ever heard of curfew?"

Lily laughed and turned back to the boys. "So, what do you need our help with?"

"We need help with pranks." James said.

"Oh, and why would you need that?" Lily asked. She was going to make James squirm a bit.

James panicked and looked to Remus for help. "Uh..."

Remus rolled his eyes, "What he's trying to say is that we're the Marauders and we need help to beat the Bandits, they're too good."

"Oh, okay." Lily said with a smile.

Sirius clapped James on the back, "See, told you it wouldn't be that much of a surprise!"

James blinked at Lily. "You're not _mad_?" He asked in disbelief.

Lily shrugged, "We already knew."

"You WHAT?" James cried.

"I knew from before and I told Lily." Hermione said with a shrug, "I didn't know that it was a secret at the time. Anyway, how could I not? I _do_ have a copy of the map."

"You do?" Sirius exclaimed.

"Yes, I do. I guess I forgot to mention it."

"That's right, you used it when you showed Lily and me the Hall the first time." Remus said with a frown. "Jeese, I can't believe I forgot about that."

The other boys looked at him in frustration, "Really? You, Remus Lupin, _forgot_ something?"

"Hey!" Remus said indignantly, "In my defense I'd just been shown a thousand year old room that no one knew existed!"

James grinned, "Okay, you're forgiven." Then he turned to Lily, "But why didn't you turn us in?"

Lily smirked, "It was so much more entertaining to just sit back and enjoy the show."

The boys just shook their heads and laughed.

"So, what kind of help do you need?" Hermione asked.

Remus took over from here. "We need ideas and spells."

"Simple enough." Hermione said.

"SIMPLE?" Sirius exclaimed, "These bandits are working on an entirely new level! None of us can figure out how they pulled those pranks off!"

"And they did them in such short succession." Peter added.

"Monday it was warming steam, Tuesday it was beards and _everyone_ stuck to the benches, Wednesday it was the teachers _speaking pirate_, Thursday it was handprints, and I don't even want to think about Friday, all that mistletoe, that was just...wow." Remus threw his hands in the air. "I'm one of the smartest people in this school and I can only figure out _parts_ of those traps. I mean, the kiss and hug traps are to be expected, I even have a few ideas about how they got the girl/guy filters to work. The cross dress also makes sense, but the forced actions and the random ones?" He just shook his head.

"That is layered spell-work beyond even what we did for the map." James added.

Lily and Hermione both had to bite back a grin, they had confused the Marauders! Hermione cleared her throat, "Okay, moving on from the apparent genius of the Bandits, do you have any ideas to work with right now?"

"YES!" James and Sirius said in unison.

"Here we go again." Remus muttered.

Sirius ignored him. "So, we have an idea, but we have no clue as to how to make it work."

Remus rolled his eyes. "What Sirius means to say it that they have come up with yet another insane plan, one which I can't actually figure out how to do. If you hadn't guessed it already, I'm the brains behind this operation, well, most of them."

"So what is this crazy idea of yours?" Lily asked.

The two boys exchanged glances, "James, it was your idea." Sirius said.

"Well, we thought it would be fun to flood the school, or at least part of it." James said.

"Let me get this straight, you want to flood the school. As in, fill it with water?" Lily asked. James and Sirius nodded, looking as excited as two year olds on the way to the candy shop. "You guys are out of your minds!"

"Not really." Remus said. "It _would_ work but we'd need a lot of repetitive spell-work and a few modified charms."

Hermione smirked, "Oh, it's possible all right, but it will take patience and hard work, and a few very inventive uses of runes." She turned to Lily who was chewing on her lip. "What do you say? Think it will work?"

Lily frowned in thought, "If you're thinking of doing it the way I think you are, then that's a hell of a lot of carving. Those runes can't just be duplicated or copied you know, and it's doing to take a long time. But I think we can get it done eventually."

While they let their breakfast settle, they planned out what they would need for the prank and when they would need to do it. Then, a few hours later, they all headed off to the Room of Requirement to train, they wanted to help Hermione with her whole 'saving the future' thing and she wouldn't let them help until she thought they were ready, which they almost were.

* * *

><p>As the six started down to lunch after training, Lily pulled Hermione off to the side.<p>

"You know, I think the Bandits need to add a little something to this prank we're planning."

Hermione frowned, "What do you mean?"

"I mean, they can't let the Marauders get away with this, they will need to respond." Lily said with a smile.

"Okay...judging by your expression, you have an idea. What are you thinking of?"

Lily's smile turned into a smirk as she whispered into Hermione's ear. Hermione grinned and dragged Lily to the Founders Door; first stop, elves. When they joined the boys, both girls had to keep smug smiles off their faces. It was a testament to the girls' acting skills that the boys didn't notice anything. And that was saying something because James was paying close attention to Lily as usual, and Sirius was keeping an eye on Hermione more often than not.

* * *

><p><strong>Operation: Flood the School<strong>

Part One - Runes

"Okay, this prank is going to take flawless work and because it has to last all day, we can't afford to risk charms wearing off." Hermione said, she was working with James, Sirius and Remus and Lily was working with Peter. "That means modified wards, which means runes.

James frowned, " If this has to do with runes why are Sirius and I here? We don't even take runes."

Hermione rolled her eyes, "Remember what I said earlier about repetition? Well, this is repetitive and we need people who can focus and carve, over and over again."

"So what do we do?" Asked Remus.

Hermione thought for a moment, "I can see us needing three sets of runic ward stones, modified of course." She said.

"Three?" Asked Remus with a frown, "I can see us needing to seal the walls/floors/doors etc. but that's only one set."

"Rune powered expanded bubble-head charms, the sealing wards and water-producing ones." Hermione listed off, "Three. Unless of course everyone in the school can produce the bubble-head charm and you want to fill the entire school _manually, _in one go."

James' eyes widened, "The _entire school_? We were just thinking a few hallways or the Entrance Hall or something, we didn't think we could do the whole damn school!"

Hermione scowled, "If we're doing this, we are going to do it properly." She said shortly. The boys shut their mouths. "Good. Now, Lily and Peter are taking care of water-proofing all the paintings etc...I don't envy them one bit. I'm going to teach James and Sirius how to carve and power the water stones and then Remus and I get to figure out how to expand the bubble-head charm and tie it to some sort of necklace or something as well as how to alter the sealing wards. After which you get to carve them too."

It only took a few moments for Hermione to provide James and Sirius with a pile of smooth river stones - they didn't ask where she got them - and a diagram of the water rune, she then taught them the extremely simple carving spell and left them to their soon to be mind- numbing work. James and Sirius' work was easy, even if it was boring, Hermione and Remus', that was a completely different story. It took them four hours to modify the bubble-head charm and by the time they worked it out, James and Sirius had carved nearly 300 water-creating stones, they had figured 500 would be necessary because of the size of the school. James was thinking this might not have been such a brilliant prank anymore. Sirius told him to shut up and get back to work, they had never backed down from a prank because it was too hard and they weren't about to start now. Hermione and Remus helped finish up the water stones and then gave James and Sirius a pile of small wood squares and showed them a quick way to charm them into necklaces. The two boys also received a diagram of the newly created full-body bubble ward, they both groaned but kept their complaints to themselves; this was the noble art of pranking after all.

Hermione and Remus found that turning the sealant charm into a rune was by far the most complicated thing they'd done in a while, it was almost impossible to get the seal spell to spread _away_ from the stone as opposed to simply sealing it itself. They were essentially creating a thin waterproof seal that would cover all the surfaces of the school, they ended up needing four different versions, one for vertical surfaces, one for floors, another for the ceilings (the inverse of the floor one) and one to fit in the corners. There was also the annoying problem that the seal would only extend 8 metres in any one direction, so they would need more than one along every hallway. Finally, they modified a sticking charm to activate when the rune was was tapped once with a wand while in contact with the stone of Hogwarts.

Between the four of them, Hermione, James, Sirius and Remus managed to finish making over a thousand rune stones and necklaces, it only took a week. It took this long because they also had to fit in school, homework, sleep, Quidditch and food. They also had Hermione's special training to fit in.

* * *

><p>Part Two - Charms<p>

While the others were working on the runes, Lily and Peter were developing an intimate relationship with water-proofing charms. They spent hours each night tucked under invisibility cloaks walking down every single hallway putting water-proofing charms on statues, portraits, suits of armour, tapestries, side tables, doors and frames, carpets..._everything,_ nothing escaped. The last thing any of them wanted to do was be responsible for ruining some priceless artifact. When they finished they could both cast the spell in their sleep and never_ ever_ wanted to use it again.

* * *

><p>Part Three - Charging<p>

Once all the charms had been placed and the runes carved, all six conspirators started charging the stones. Runes were all well and good, but they had to be powered by something and that something was going to be the Marauders and Hermione and Lily's magic. It was an extremely tiring process; Peter could only do 10 or 12 an evening, Remus and Lily could do a maximum of 30, James and Sirius managed 40 once and Hermione could do a hundred at most. Together, they could power an average of 150 every evening so it took most of a week to get them done. They all _really_ hoped it would be worth it.

By the week before Halloween, they had everything finished, all that was left was to put the stuff where it belonged.

* * *

><p>Part Four - Set Up<p>

At three am on the morning of October 25th, the Marauders and Lily and Hermione snuck into the Founders Hall where they had stashed their thousands of rune stones and necklaces - they even had ones for the Professors and the Headmaster. Before starting, they each grabbed a body-bubble necklace and put it on, no need to drown during set up. For the preparation of the prank, the six students divided into three groups; the first was Remus and Peter, their territory was the third floor and down, Peter had a bag of sealant stones and Remus had one of water stones. Peter would place and activate the sealant ones and then Remus would follow with the water. They had a map and cloak with them. James and Lily were the second group, they had the fourth floor and up and were doing the same as Remus and Peter, they were given the other map and cloak. The maps were for avoidance and if they couldn't avoid someone then they would have to duck under the cloak until they disappeared. Finally, Sirius and Hermione were in charge of the common rooms and professors quarters. Sirius was distributing all the bubble-body rune necklaces and Hermione would put a sign up. Then they took sealant and water stones to the Great Hall and got that set-up before having a quick chat with the elves. They also popped through the Founder's Door and did a whole lot of really clever long-lasting conjuring and transfiguration in each of the hallways.

* * *

><p>Hermione and Lily walked down the stairs the next morning and had to hide grins as they saw the horrified expressions on some of the students' faces as they stood in front of the open portrait hole; the entire hallway was flooded, filled from floor to ceiling with clear blue water. A young girl squeaked when a massive stingray swam by and a boy actually screamed (though he later denied it) when a hammerhead waved it's head at them.<p>

"Bloody hell!" A fifth year girl yelled.

"They flooded the fucking school!" Her friend added.

"Girls," Sirius exclaimed as he slid his arms around the two girls, "I had no idea you knew such language!"

"Stuff it, Black." The first girl snapped as she shoved his arm away. "We have bigger things to worry about than my mouth."

Sirius grinned, "I don't know, your mouth seems just fine as it is..." The girl actually blushed at that and her friend gave Sirius a flirty smile.

Hermione rolled her eyes, "Knock it off, Sirius." Hermione didn't notice that Sirius immediately stopped and his attention shifted to her because she was too busy watching everyone's reactions to the flooded school.

"Hey, what are these?" A boy asked as he picked up one of the rune necklaces.

"It looks like a charm or something." His friend said. "Oh look, there's a sign!"

Everyone crowded around so they could read the poster that had just appeared on the wall.

_Ladies, Gentlemen and Professors, Welcome to the first ever Under the Sea day!_

_As you may have noticed, there have been a few changes to the décor; don't worry, they're not permanent. Needless to say, you probably don't want to get wet so we have kindly provided full-body bubble charms which are tied to those necklaces. If you hang one of those charms around your neck, you will be surrounded by a bubble from head to toe whenever you touch water. May we suggest an exploration of the lake? Please keep in mind that the charms will only last until midnight._

_Have Fun!_

_The Marauders and Co._

"Merlin help us, they teamed up!" James exclaimed loudly.

"What do you mean?" Lily asked.

"Marauders and _**Co**_? They teamed up with those new guys!"

A guy groaned, "They're called the Bandits. But I don't think it's them, they've always taken credit for what they did, now they're just Co? I think the Marauders got help from a friend or something."

"That makes sense." Hermione said. "I mean, those Bandits were really good, maybe the Marauders needed all the help they could get." She couldn't help rubbing the Bandits' superiority in the boys' faces.

"Well, I don't know about you guys, but this looks _cool_! I don't care who did it." Sirius said with a grin. He quickly dropped a charm around his neck and stepped out of the common room, scaring a school of guppies. "Dude, this is awesome!"

Everyone - except those in the know - jumped, despite the fact that Sirius was in a big bubble (the success of which really surprised some), they could hear him perfectly. With a round of shrugs, the rest of Gryffindor followed Sirius' example and then headed down to breakfast. On the way, they passed all sorts of sea life; fish, sharks, _submarines_, seaweed, rocks, streams of bubbles, jellyfish and more. By the time the house arrived, they had figured out that they could hear each other perfectly, could merge bubbles, could reach out of their bubbles, the sharks bit, the submarines shot stinging hexes at them, and that _everything_ except the dorms was completely filled with water. Upon their arrival at the Great Hall, the Gryffindors found that there was one long bubble over each of the tables and that the food wasn't damaged, much to everyone's relief. A few of the more observant students noticed the faintly glowing rune stones scattered around; however, they didn't recognise half of the runes and didn't know what would happen if they messed with them so the stones were left untouched. Anyway, it wasn't like they were hurting anyone, and judging by the number of stones they saw, this had taken a lot of time and effort, they didn't want to ruin it.

* * *

><p>Professor McGonagall opened the door to her quarters and froze; there was a small note and a charm necklace hanging innocently in front of her door, suspended in <em>water<em>. There was _WATER_ in the hallway. With a sigh, she rolled her sleeve up and pulled them in. By the time she finished reading the letter, she was questioning her reasons for becoming a teacher. But she couldn't help admiring the _extensive_ spell and rune-work that went into this.

* * *

><p>Dumbledore gaped, his school was FLOODED! Someone flooded his entire school! And he couldn't risk upsetting any of the rune stones because he didn't know how or if they were connected! With a sigh, he placed the provided necklace on and walked to breakfast. He was happy to see that everything had been waterproofed, but he was still mighty annoyed. He did have to say that this was a magnificent prank, well-thought out and perfectly executed, not to mention how <em>complex<em> it was. Along the way he stopped to analyze the stones but all he could glean from them was that there were at least three different people who carved them and possibly five who charged them. But, much to his chagrin, the magical signatures had been obscured, meaning he had no way to know who was responsible.

Over the course of the day, the Professors found that they could still write on the boards, demonstrate spells (avoiding the fish who reacted in a rather volatile manner when hit) as well as lecture properly. They were also pleasantly surprised to find that their offices _hadn't_ been flooded and Madam Pince nearly fainted from relief when she realised her precious books were safe. Even potions was okay, the bubbles automatically covered cauldrons and ingredients.

* * *

><p>After dinner, when everyone got back to their dorms, they found a big pile of fluffy towels and a tub of little bundles of green slimy stuff just outside the door. There was a sign floating above it:<p>

_Compliments of the Bandits. There is enough gillyweed here for two bundles each, each bundle only lasts an hour, so please try not to drown._

_P.S. Marauders, whoever you are, congratulations on a job well done, even if you did have to ask for help._

James grabbed Hermione and Lily and pulled them off to the side, "I can't believe they're stealing our prank!"

Lily rolled her eyes, "They're not _stealing_ our prank, just adding to it."

"Yeah," Sirius said as he joined them, "Sure, they're taking advantage of our hard work, but come on, it really is too good to pass up."

"Okay, fine." James said with a pout. Then he grinned, "So, who's up for a swim?"

All six ran up to their dorms to grab their swimsuits, Hermione went to the mirror and made sure to put a glamour over her scars. As they walked down to the common room, they had to stifle laughs at the scraps of cloth some of the other girls were wearing. Unfortunately for the girls who wanted to flaunt their bodies, as soon as they passed out of the portrait hole their skin changed colour and you couldn't tell where the swimsuit was, everything was smoothed out, all the girls' chests were flattened to near non-existence and you couldn't really see the shape of anything from the waist down of any of the guys. It was almost as if they had become asexual for the next little while. Also, their skin wasn't just one colour, no, they looked like they were covered head-to-toe in abstract body art, all with a semi-underwater theme. A few were disappointed that they didn't get to show off their bodies but most were just amazed, especially because the colour scheme was oriented around their favourite colour. The male population was extremely glad that they had been 'streamlined', some for different reasons than others but it was an almost universal feeling. Many were also glad that unwelcome pudge had been smoothed away to a certain extent. It also didn't take people long to notice that there was a stopwatch feature built into the body paint, it was set to count down from one hour. Hermione and Lily shared a small smile before swimming off to the entrance hall where they planned on starting a school-wide game of tag. The game lasted just under two hours at which point everyone raced back to their common rooms as their 'painted' stopwatches reminded them they had five minutes of gill-time left.

* * *

><p>Author's note: I cannot promise when my next update will be, I am alternately at my family farm, on the sailboat or working, none of which have good internet and don't give me time to write. Sorry to those of you following The Diadone Method but it will be sometime between a few days and a month before I update. The same goes for this story. Again, sorry guys.<p> 


	24. Halloween Adventures

**Preventing the Future**

**Chapter Twenty Four – Halloween Adventures**

* * *

><p>Author's note: So, I know it's been <em>ages<em> since I updated, and will probably be ages more before I do again but I had inspiration and motivation to write this so I did. Enjoy!

WARNING: This chapter contains a small amount of violence, a fair number of kisses and a whole lot of alcohol.

* * *

><p>Hermione woke up early on October 26th, the prank the day before had been a smashing success and everyone had loved it, but a voice in the back of her mind was telling her that the time for fun was over.<p>

She thought about it and Hermione realized that it was time to take on another set of Death Eaters. She also decided that the next step in the Marauders and Lily's training was an actual fight. Hermione knew that the Death Eaters liked to celebrate Halloween with multiple revels and that they didn't all go to the same one.

Hermione decided that in five days she would take the Marauders and Lily on their first hunting trip.

* * *

><p>When Lily woke it was to find that Hermione had already left, which wasn't surprising as it was already seven. Not bothering to change out of her pajamas (this was becoming a bad habit of hers), Lily took the Founders Door to the kitchen where she commandeered a cup of tea and some scones.<p>

Thinking for a moment, Lily headed to the study room under the lake where she found Hermione nursing a cold cup of coffee staring blankly at the water around them.

"Morning, Hermione." Lily said, sitting in a nearby chair.

"Hi, Lily. Yesterday was great, eh?" Hermione said with a smile.

"Yeah, it was amazing. I still can't believe it worked out so well, both parts of the pranks. I'm seriously considering owning up to that one...after we graduate." Then Lily noticed the thoughtful expression on Hermione's face. "What's on your mind?"

Hermione sighed. "It's Halloween in a few days."

"And...?"

"Halloween has always been rather...eventful for me. Things just happen on Halloween." Hermione explained.

"Oh. You want to talk about it?"

"Not really. But I was thinking, this year I want to be the initiator of whatever goes down as opposed to the victim." Hermione said.

"What did you have in mind?"

"I was thinking that you guys were ready to put those new skills of yours to use."

Lily's eyes widened, "Really? Are you sure we're ready?"

"There's only one way to find out. I was thinking of crashing a Death Eater party." Hermione said with a rather evil smirk. "One of the smaller ones, of course. But I think it would be a good way to celebrate the holiday, for me at least."

Lily grinned, "You wanna get the boys or shall I?"

"No need, they just walked in the door." Hermione turned around, "Hello boys."

"How did you know we were here?" Sirius asked.

"I have a very well developed sense of spatial awareness, it's necessary in my line of work." Hermione said with a grin.

"Understandable." Remus said.

"Anyway, what were you going to get us for?" James asked.

"Hermione here is going to crash a Death Eater Halloween party and is inviting us." Lily said with a smile.

Sirius' eyes bugged out. "Really? You'll let us come?"

"Yes, if we all stick together and find a small party I think you will all do just fine."

Hermione was a bit surprised when James jumped and shouted "Yes!"

"James!" Hermione said sharply with a scowl. "If that is your attitude about this whole thing, then you're not ready. This is _not_ a game."

"Sorry, I just had a bet with Sirius that you'd be going out again on Halloween. It didn't have anything to do with whether we were coming or not."

Hermione squinted at James before deciding he was telling the truth. "Okay. But remember, this is serious and you need to treat it as such, the only reason I even taught you all that stuff was because I knew you could all do it before."

Everyone nodded solemnly, no one even mentioned the Sirius/serious joke, that, in and of itself, was enough to convince Hermione that they understood.

"Now that that's out of the way, what say we fit in a bit of practice and then get you all some outfits like mine?"

The days proceeding Halloween were filled with planning, training and preparation. Hermione snuck them all out on the 30th to get form fitting dragon hide vests and extra dragon hide for her to weave into it.

All six of them spent the day of Halloween in the Founders Hall relaxing and mentally preparing themselves for what they were about to do. Well, the Marauders and Lily were mentally preparing themselves, Hermione was quietly reading a book, this was just a regular day in the life of Hermione Granger before she was sent back in time.

At sunset, Hermione called them all over to the couches near the fireplace to go over last-minute details.

"Remember, this time, we will all be working together so stick to your original roles. Peter, shields; James, defensive transfiguration; Remus, defensive spells and healing if necessary; Sirius, offensive transfiguration; Lily, offensive charms/hexes; and I will be offensive anything and everything.

"Peter and Remus, I also want you in charge of hostage rescue, this is a Death Eater revel and that means people to torture, but I want you to summon them to you, don't go to them yourselves. I'll give you each a handful of portkeys, Remus, heal them quickly if they need it and then Peter, I want you to take the portkey with them back to the hall and keep an eye on them.

"You remember the stasis spell?" Peter nodded. "Good, if they are in danger of dying, put them in stasis and if they are being troublesome or dangerous, petrify them. Remus will send you others if and when he finds them."

"If we have to split up, I want James and Lily to help Remus and Peter, and Sirius, you're with me. Guys, whatever you do, don't get yourselves killed. Portkey out before you die, this is no time for stupid heroics. And for Merlin's sake, don't stop what you're doing to watch me. You know what I can do, don't let it distract you.

"Remember, this won't be a duel, we are shooting to kill, so to speak. If you don't fell like you can do this, say so now, I can't have you freezing up when we get there."

No one said anything, but Hermione could see Peter consciously hardening his face.

Lily frowned, "What if one of the Death Eaters is a spy or someone who was forced into it?"

"For one thing, you have to take the mark of your own free will, and second, I will do a quick mental sweep when we arrive, if someone is feeling disgusted or guilty, I will stun them. That will be the cue to attack."

Hermione had decided to attack the Goyle mansion and if there wasn't anyone there, they'd go to the Crabbe one, those two weren't very high in Voldemort's favor at the moment, but they were enthusiastic and sadistic Death Eaters so they would be doing something with other junior members.

* * *

><p>At 10:00pm, Hermione made a portkey and all six grabbed on and were whisked away to their first joint attack.<p>

It took Hermione less than thirty seconds to fell the pitiful wards around the Goyle mansion.

"Okay, that was probably the most useless ward scheme I have ever had the pleasure of breaking." Hermione muttered to Sirius who was right next to her.

"What?" Sirius asked, confused.

"The wards, they were old, weak, simple and probably haven't been charged since they were first laid. I'm not sure they would have even done anything to us if we just crossed them."

Sirius stifled a laugh, Hermione had told them that smarts was not something that ran in the Goyle family, apparently it was true.

The six of them climbed in an open window and, just like when Hermione had gone after the Lestranges, followed the screams and cruel laughter.

Before they entered the room, Hermione quickly checked the Death Eaters' minds and swallowed the bile threatening to rise, "They are all guilty." She told the others. "And there is a family, two muggles and two muggleborns."

As soon as they entered, Remus and Peter summoned the bodies of the victims; it looked like a family; mum, dad and two brothers. The boys were very young, the eldest no older than eight or nine, both were magical. Unfortunately, the father was already dead, signs of uninventive torture clear on his body, the mother looked like she had been in the middle of being raped and was covered in hundreds of cuts and rapidly forming bruises, both boys were in horrified shock but physically unharmed.

Remus quickly covered the mother's body in a gel that would hold all the cuts closed for a few hours and stunned her. Peter carefully stunned both boys and then portkeyed out with all three and the father's dead body.

James and Lily had immediately snapped into action, giving Remus and Peter the cover they needed to work. The two of them were amazing together, Lily was like a firestorm, it only took two hits from her to break a shield and one more to permanently incapacitate the Death Eater(s) behind it. And James was just spectacular, he had a small cloud of metal disks flying around the whole group directing them into the path of nearly every incoming spells path.

After Peter left, Remus joined Lily and James in their attack and the three of them were brilliant.

When Sirius first started fighting, he was amazed with how well the group was working together and then he saw Remus and Peter head to the hostages, followed quickly by James and Lily. In less than a split second, he found himself back-to-back with Hermione in the middle of the room, somehow she had surrounded both of them with a glowing green shield that was absorbing every spell thrown at it.

Both Hermione and Sirius dodged anything that resembled an unforgivable but with Hermione's shield in place, Sirius was able to concentrate on his offensive. The two of them slowly spun around and no Death Eater was able to survive once their attention was on them.

It only took the five students ten minutes to dispose of the sixteen Death Eaters, Hermione couldn't have been more proud.

After James, Lily and Remus had already left and just before Sirius was going to activate his portkey, he saw Hermione walking around the room. Wondering what she was doing, he stopped and watched; Hermione looked at each body she walked passed and took each and every mask off. Every now and then a small jet of green light left her wand and disappeared into the body.

Hermione checked each of the Death Eaters to both check their names off her mental list as well as make sure they were actually dead, and if they weren't, rectify the situation. She was pleased to see that Crabbe, Goyle and Barty Crouch Jr. were all there. Then she came to the last one.

Laying twisted and dying, but not quite dead yet, on the ground in front of Hermione was Alecto Carrow, next to her was her dead brother.

"Alecto Carrow, you despicable excuse for a living creature." Hermione growled, letting anger wash over her and mar her face.

"Who-?" Alecto asked, blood dribbling out of her mouth as life slowly left her.

"You have no idea how long I've wanted to do this." Hermione said with a nasty grin.

"Wha-?" Alecto's voice was cut off as Hermione slowly and deliberately covered the woman's skin with liquid lead, it burned and hissed as it fused with her flesh.

Hermione's lip curled, "That's for Luna you bitch!" She hissed vehemently before shooting a killing curse at her exposed face.

Sirius watched Hermione brutally kill one of the Death Eaters and felt the need to be sick, instead he activated his portkey and hoped Hermione hadn't noticed that he was there.

Lucky for Sirius, Hermione was too busy setting the mansion on fire to hear his portkey leave.

* * *

><p>When Hermione got back to the Founders Hall she was overjoyed to find that besides a few scrapes and small cuts, <em>none <em>of the attack/rescue team were hurt. The same could not be said for the family which had been captured by the Death Eaters.

"What do we do with them?" Sirius asked.

"I'm going to take them to St. Mungos, why don't you all go get cleaned up, I'll be back in ten." Hermione said before taking a portkey to the hospital. A quick story and a few memory charms later, the family was being taken care of and Hermione was back in the common room.

"Boys, get on your pajamas, I've got a party planned." Hermione quietly called into the boys dorm before entering her and Lily's dorm.

"Lily, put some pj's on, I've got a party planned."

Lily raised an eyebrow, "You do realize we've just been in a big fight with Death Eaters, right?"

"Yeah, and none of us got hurt. Anyway, the actual fight was only ten minutes long. I have thousand year old booze..." Hermione tempted.

"Okay, fine. But you're responsible for the boys."

"Hell no! They're responsible for themselves."

By midnight everyone was in the RoR which Hermione had already prepared; it was almost exactly like the Gryffindor common room, just minus the furniture and plus tons of big pillows on the floor.

"Okay guys, make yourselves comfortable, I'm off to get the booze."

Hermione took the Door to the cellar where she had found the ancient alcohol and came back with twelve bottles of butterbeer, one bottle of Firewhiskey and one of Sky Liquor, all were over a thousand years old.

"Here we go." Hermione said with a grin, passing a butterbeer to each person. "Drink up!"

"Hermione?" Sirius asked.

"Yes?"

"What is this?"

"Thousand year old butterbeer."

"Nice! Where did you get it?" James asked.

"Not telling, you'll just drink it all. Anyway, I think you'll find that this is a bit stronger than what you're used to." Hermione answered with a grin.

Lily smirked, "After what we did tonight, I think we all deserve to get drunk."

Sirius grimaced, remembering what he had seen Hermione do. "I agree."

"No surprise there, you're always ready to get drunk." James said with a grin. "First things first, sculling contest! First one to finish their beer gets to pick the next game." James didn't even wait for everyone to finish processing what he'd said before he started drinking his butterbeer as fast as possible.

Unfortunately for James, Hermione was a much more seasoned drinker than he and was finished a few seconds faster.

"How the hell did you do that?" James asked, stifling a belch.

"Practice makes perfect." Hermione said with a smug smile. When everyone had finished drinking, Hermione grabbed the bottle of Sky Liquor. "Okay, I have no idea what this tastes like, but if the Founders kept hundreds of bottles of it, it must be good. We will now be playing Honey if You Love Me."

"What's that?" Sirius asked, intrigued.

"We all sit in a circle except for you, because you kindly volunteered to go first, you will sit in the middle. You then have to go around in a circle and try to make one of us laugh. You say "Honey if you love me, please just smile." You can say it however you want but you can't touch us. We then have to respond with "Honey, I love you, but I just can't smile" without laughing.

"If we don't laugh, you move onto the next person in the circle. If we do, then we have to take a drink from the bottle and then we're the one in the middle. Get it?"

Sirius nodded, "Got it. Let's do this thing!"

Twenty minutes later Hermione was sober, Peter was sloshed and everyone else was nicely buzzed.

"I got a game!" James yelled. "I Have Never!"

Sirius groaned, "That's _boring_, change it to Truth or Dare! Every turn you drink!"

Lily, who became a completely different person when she was inebriated, yelled; "YEAH! I'm going first...James, truth or dare?"

"Truth."

"Okay...who was the first girl you saw naked?"

James flushed. "Hermione." He answered.

Lily sat back and blinked. "Seriously? You mean all those rumors of James Potter the player aren't true?"

James grinned cheekily and winked at Lily, "What can I say, I'm saving the experience for the right girl. Now, my turn! Hermione, truth or dare?"

"Dare."

"I dare you to make out with Sirius for a full minute, no pauses."

Hermione smirked and started crawling across the circle to where Sirius was sitting, amazed that he got to kiss Hermione. "Come on, handsome, we've got work to do!" Hermione said before sitting in his lap and straddling him.

Sirius nearly forgot to breathe when Hermione approached him, she looked like lion stalking it's prey, and when they kissed...for someone who claimed to have no romantic history, she was extremely talented.

When their minute was up (and maybe it lasted a bit longer), Hermione pulled back, patted Sirius on the cheek and said "Thanks!" Before heading back to her seat. Sirius just sat in a daze, swaying back and forth a bit.

"Damn, you must be one hell of a good kisser to reduce the infamous Sirius Black to that state." Lily said in awe. "I want a kiss like that." She muttered later, but James was the only one to hear it.

Remus, who was sitting next to Sirius smacked him on the head, "Snap out of it mate, it was just a kiss!"

"Just a kiss, Remus, that was a piece of heaven!" Sirius said distractedly.

Hermione smirked, she wasn't going to admit it, but she completely and totally agreed with Sirius on that one. "Yeah, yeah, yeah, get over it. We have a game to play! Remus, truth or dare?"

"Truth."

The game went on like this for a while until James remembered what Lily had said in response to Sirius' reaction to Hermione's kiss. "Hermione, truth or dare?"

"Dare!" Hermione grinned, she was well passed the point of being tipsy.

"I dare you to make out with Lily just like you did with Sirius." James said with a smirk.

Peter toppled over in shock and Remus choked on a chip.

Lily gaped, "WHAT?" She squeaked.

James turned to Lily, "You said earlier that you wanted a kiss like that, now you can have one!" He said triumphantly.

Sirius looked between Hermione and Lily, would they actually do it? Like any red blooded male, the thought of two girls making out was extremely attractive, but this was LILY EVANS, James' long-time crush and conservative bookworm, and HERMIONE GRANGER, Sirius' crush and all around dangerous girl. Damn, that would be HOT...if they actually went through with it.

It took Hermione a minute to get over the shock of the dare (she couldn't believe that James had suggested that she kiss his love) but when she did she turned to Lily with a grin. "So, shall we give them a show?"

Lily stared at Hermione, it was pretty obvious that the boys didn't think they'd do it, so when Hermione grinned she decided that yes, they would give the boys a show.

The boys were shocked, Lily was thoroughly embarrassed and Hermione thought the whole thing was hilarious.

"Okay, wow!" Sirius said, trying to control his raging hormones. "I think its time for a new game, nothing can top that!"

"I agree. Charades!" Remus said, still having trouble reconciling this Lily with the one he met six years ago.

So they played charades, and got even more drunk. _Really _drunk. All of them. Including Hermione. But they somehow managed to not hit the pass-out point. Except Peter, he was asleep five minutes into the game.

An hour later it somehow turned into a competition to see who was the worst drunk dancer. Which morphed into hopscotch, and that was fine until Lily suggested playing twister.

"Hey! That's my hand you're standing on."

"Move your face, it's in the way of my butt!"

"Dude, you're feet smell."

"Hahahahahaha! Stop tickling me!"

"Whoa, no, not there-"

"Watch it!"

"Well hello ladies!"

"Shit."

"Ahhhh!"

"Whose chest is this?"

"Ow."

"Yeah."

"Lets do it again!"

"Pig pile!"

"Gaaahhhhh!"

"Oomph, get the fuck off me- aaaaaaaaaaa!"

"Tickle monster!"

"I'm thirsty."

"Me too."

"_**Firewhiskey!"**_

And so the night went, random games, lots of swearing and shit tons of alcohol.

Around seven in the morning, the six of them (Peter had woken up and re-joined them a few hours before) linked arms and stumbled back to the common room singing loudly. It was a testament to how much Hogwarts liked Hermione that she made sure none of the professors or prefects noticed them.

"Thirty-two bottles of booze on the wall, thirty-two bottles of booze! Take one down, pass it around, thirty-one bottles of booze on the wall!"

By some sort of unspoken agreement, which no one really understood the reasoning behind, the six of them migrated to the boys dorm.

Peter and Remus fell onto their beds without a sound, but Hermione and Lily looked around and wondered what they were doing in the boys dorm and whether or not they had the energy to get back their theirs.

James yawned, "Mmm tired. Lily dear, wanna sleep with me?"

"Thought you'd never ask." Lily grumbled drunkenly.

Hermione grinned at Sirius through her alcohol-induced haze, "Well, what about me?"

Sirius smiled stupidly, "I'd love to." He grabbed Hermione's hand (it took him two tries cause his world was a bit unsteady) and they both crashed on his bed. They were asleep before their heads whacked each other as they both missed the pillow.

* * *

><p>Hermione woke up slowly, the first thing she noticed was the marching band that had taken up residence in her head. The second was the fact that her cheek was pressed up against something warm and soft that had a quiet rhythm all of it's own, apparently her pillow was someone's chest. Judging by the lack of certain anatomical features, it was a male chest, a nicely toned, bare male chest.<p>

_What the hell did we do last night?_ Hermione wondered. Slowly, the specifics trickled back to her, she opened one eye and looked at the person with whom she was sharing a bed; Sirius. Hermione had to bite back a laugh, this was probably one of the first times Sirius had woken up, fully clothed, in bed with a girl who he hadn't had sex with.

Wait a minute, scratch that, not fully clothed, they were both missing their shirts...though Hermione had retained her sports bra. _Huh, interesting, I don't remember that.  
><em>

As she stared at Sirius, Hermione realized something that was both surprising and frightening; she liked Sirius Black. _I like Sirius, I _like _Sirius! Woah... When did that happen?_ She analyzed her feelings, yes, she was pretty sure this was what it felt like to be falling for someone. Weird.

_What do I do about it?_ Hermione didn't have an answer for that, she might be knowledgeable in the ways of the world, but anything to do with being social, including romance, was completely beyond her.

Hermione's head pounded, this was not something you should think about with a hangover, so she went back to sleep.

* * *

><p>When Sirius finally returned to the land of the undead (cause it sure as hell wasn't the land of the living), he purred and snuggled closer to the warm body in his arms, it had been ages since he last woke up with someone in his bed and he had forgotten how nice it was. The details of the night before were still a bit hazy but he did remember alcohol, <em>lots<em> of alcohol, and games, and kissing, and singing, and a small amount of stripping.

Just as he asked himself; _Who's in my bed? _The horrible truth came crashing into his mind, he opened his eyes and found himself staring at the calmly sleeping face of Hermione Granger, who was currently shirtless.

"Ahhhhh! Oh my god!" Sirius yelled, too frightened to even get out of bed.

Hermione scowled and slapped a hand over Sirius' mouth, her pillow was not supposed to be making noise. "Shut the fuck up before I kill you." She growled.

Sirius froze, he knew what happened to guys to hit on Hermione, who knows what she'd do to him? She had woken up _in his bed_! He whimpered and started pulling his arms away from her small, deadly body, "Please don't kill me."

Hermione sighed, she had just come to the realisation that she liked, in a romantic sense, Sirius, and he thought she was going to kill him. Lovely.

To no ones surprise, the others in the room had woken up when Sirius freaked out. Peter and Remus just cradled their heads and wished someone had thought to bring hangover potions.

Lily and James took one look at each other and blushed so hard that they both resembled over-ripe tomatoes, then they too held their heads and groaned.

Sirius still looked terrified.

Hermione rolled her eyes and quickly regretted the action as it sent spikes of pain into her brain. "Do you boys have any hangover potion?"

There was a round of shaking heads quickly followed by another one of moans.

"Well, fuck." Hermione looked at her watch and saw that it was past one in the afternoon, seeing as it was a Sunday, there should be plenty of people in the common room. "I'm going to get some." She announced, rolling out of Sirius' bed. As an afterthought she commandeered one of Sirius' shirts, no need to announce to all of Gryffindor that Hermione Granger favoured dark purple sports bras...or that she had a massive scar across her back.

Not wanting to miss the show, everyone followed her out of the dorm, slowly, carefully, and most of all, quietly.

Hermione carefully walked to the middle of the common room, her obvious state of tiredness coupled with her attire (Sirius' clothing) made a hush fall over the room. The five other hungover students stumbled down the stairs and they all ended up in a heap of moaning arms and legs at the bottom.

"If anyone has even a single drop of hangover potion, now would be a really good time to get it. I will get you some more by the end of the day if you can get it to me in the next thirty seconds." Hermione said clearly and quietly as she disentangled herself.

There was a flurry of summoning spells and she soon had twenty doses being offered to her, Hermione downed the nearest one and sighed in relief. "Thank you." Then she grabbed five more and banished them at the other hungover seventh years who didn't waste any time in taking them.

Then Lily and Hermione went back to their dorm and the boys did the same, each occupied with their own thoughts.

Now that a potential crisis had been averted, the common room burst out in whispers, each person wondering what Lily and the scary new girl had been doing the the boys dorms all night and why all six of them had hangovers. Not to mention why Hermione was wearing one of the boys' shirts...

* * *

><p>When Hermione and Lily returned to their dorm, they were pleased to find that their roommates weren't there and, judging by the state of their beds, they had done what Hermione and Lily had.<p>

Lily sat down on her bed. "I slept with James Potter." She murmured.

Hermione copied her, "I slept with Sirius Black. _Shirtless._"

Both started laughing. "How long do you suppose it will take for them to apologize?" Lily asked when they got their breath back.

"Probably about a minute after we see them next." Hermione said with a grin.

Lily calmed down. "I kinda liked it." She said quietly. "I mean, waking up with James behind me, with his arms around me, it felt nice... Is that weird?"

Hermione shook her head. "No. And as shocked as I am to admit it, waking up with my head snuggled into Sirius' chest was one of the best feelings in the world."

"What?!" Lily gasped, she knew that half the school had some sort of crush on Hermione, Sirius included, but she'd never in a million years think that Hermione would like anyone back, it just didn't seem right.

"What's more, I think I like him." Hermione whispered.

Lily was speechless.

"I know, scary Hermione Granger, cold genius who turns guys into statues, actually liking a boy. It's just strange."

"What are you going to do?" Lily asked.

"I don't know. I mean, he's asked me out before, but this morning he looked so scared of me, he asked me not to kill him!"

"Well, you have to admit, you don't usually respond well to guys hitting on you." Lily said.

"Good point. I think I'll just leave it for now though. What about you? You finally going to get together with James?"

Lily blushed. "Yeah, I think so. It just felt so right, being there with him. Anyway, we should probably get dressed and go find the boys, they probably think we're up here plotting their demise."

Hermione laughed, "I wouldn't put it past them."

* * *

><p>Sirius stumbled back into their dorm and collapsed onto the floor. "Oh my god!" He groaned, dropping his head into his hands.<p>

"What?" Asked Remus tiredly.

"I slept with Hermione. The two of us. In my bed. Without shirts."

"So? You didn't seem to have a problem with it last night. And as I recall, you made out more than once." James said as he headed for the shower.

Sirius' head flew up so fast he whacked it on the bed post. "We did? I only remember one!" He turned to Peter for confirmation.

"Don't ask me, I passed out sometime during Charades."

"She's going to kill me..."

Remus patted Sirius on the shoulder sympathetically, "I'll make sure you have a nice funeral."

* * *

><p>By some weird quirk of the universe, Lily and Hermione made it down to the common room before the boys.<p>

"So, who do you think will apologise first?" Lily asked.

"I'm going to go with James, Sirius will probably be freaking out for at least ten minutes."

Lily smirked, "I have an idea."

"Oh dear, I don't think I like that face."

"Well, I've decided to finally admit I like James, and you told me you liked Sirius..."

Hermione frowned, "Where are you going with this?"

"I say we attack them when they come down the stairs and give them the kiss of their lives!" Lily said with a grin.

"You're not kidding, are you?"

"Nope. It will shock them into silence and allows us to skip the awkward conversations, as much as I like seeing the boys squirm, I think this will be more fun."

Hermione smiled, "You know, I actually like that idea."

Their conversation was cut off by the appearance of Sirius and James entering the common room looking extremely nervous. Hermione, who had faster reflexes than Lily (surprise surprise), was moving before the boys had fully stepped off the stairs. She took a running jump and literally wrapped herself around Sirius before snogging the living daylights out of him.

Sirius panicked when he saw Hermione headed for him, he knew it, his life was over, this was the end. At least he got to sleep with her before she murdered him. The next thing he knew Hermione's legs were wrapped around his waist, her arms around his neck and her lips were firmly attached to his own. It took him a second to react but when he did, he kissed back with equal passion, thanking his lucky stars that he had a strong build, otherwise he would have ended up on the ground.

Lily approached the situation in a much less dramatic way, she just ran over and pulled James' face down to meet hers before dragging him to the closest chair and planting herself on his lap. James' reaction was no less surprised than Sirius' but he was glad Lily had not tackled him, because as much as he hated to admit it, he was neither as tall nor as strong as Sirius and probably would have fallen over.

Sirius leaned back against the wall as he tried to catch his breath, still with an armful of Hermione. "Woah." He said, almost, if not more, as dazed as the first time she kissed him.

"Surprised?" Hermione asked with a smug grin.

"You could say that. I take it this means I'm not on your kill list?"

Hermione laughed, "You were never on my kill list, past, present or future." She unhooked her legs from around Sirius waist and dropped to the ground.

Sirius leaned down and gave Hermione a quick kiss. "That's good to hear, I've seen what happens to people on your list."

"You ready for some food?" She looked over at where James and Lily were still making out on the chair, "I think they'll be here for a while."

"Sure." Sirius scanned the common room, "Looks like Remus and Peter went on ahead."

Hermione linked arms with Sirius and they headed down to breakfast (ahem, lunch). "We should find them girlfriends..."

* * *

><p>Author's note: There you go, another chapter...finally. I can promise you, with the utmost of certainty that the next will be a long time coming. Sorry.<p>

However, when reviews fill my inbox I am often sent on a guilt trip which ends with me being a little closer to another completed chapter...so please review!


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